Real Madrid rage at Ballon d’Or as Thibaut Courtois moans about being stuck behind Mbappe, Salah, Lewandowski and De Bruyne and club fume over Man City (despite Benzema’s overall victory!)
- Real Madrid have been left surprised at some of their players’ placings in the Ballon d’Or ranking after the awards ceremony on Monday night
- Karim Benzema claimed the prestigious accolade for the first time in his career
- But Vinicius Jr came only eighth and Luka Modric was ninth after the voting
- Thibaut Courtois, who was seventh, said it was ‘impossible’ for a keeper to win
- Toni Kroos was left stunned Real came only third in the team of the year award
- It came after they won a Champions League and LaLiga double in 2021-22
Real Madrid have been left fuming by their players’ placings in the Ballon d’Or with Thibaut Courtois complaining it is ‘impossible’ for a goalkeeper to win the award.
The Spanish and European champions are surprised by Vinicius Jr finishing only eighth and Luka Modric ninth despite hugely successful seasons.
And Toni Kroos hit out after Manchester City and Liverpool finished ahead of Real in the team award despite them claiming a Champions League and LaLiga double.
Thibaut Courtois has complained it is ‘impossible’ for a goalkeeper to win the Ballon d’Or after he placed seventh in the rankings on Monday evening
The Real Madrid keeper claimed the Lev Yashin award for the world’s best goalkeeper
Karim Benzema was awarded the 2022 Ballon d’Or award at the Theatre du Chatelet
Their striker Karim Benzema did, however, end his long wait for the Ballon d’Or at the glittering awards ceremony in Paris on Monday night.
He beat Bayern Munich’s Sadio Mane, who was a Liverpool player until the summer, and Man City’s Kevin De Bruyne in the voting for the prestigious award.
Spanish newspaper Diario AS reported that eyebrows had been raised at Real over the positions of Modric, Vinicius and Courtois, who came seventh, in the Ballon d’Or rankings.
Mane, De Bruyne, Robert Lewandowski, Mohamed Salah and Kylian Mbappe all placed higher than the trio.
Courtois didn’t hold back after the ceremony, telling Spanish media: ‘I’m very happy for Karim Benzema. I’m not saying I would have won it, but I’m not even on the podium being the goalkeeper who won LaLiga and the Champions League.
Real Madrid were crowned champions of Europe after they defeated Liverpool in Paris
Their midfielder Toni Kroos was left stunned they finished only third in the team of the year
Manchester City won the award with Kevin De Bruyne and Ederson collecting it from Luis Figo
‘It seems scoring a goal is better than stopping it. It is a battle that remains to be won. Seeing the logic and knowing how they vote, I knew I would have no chance of winning it.’
He added: ‘A future winning goalkeeper? I see that as impossible for a goalkeeper.
‘It’s impossible to win this award. I don’t know if as a goalkeeper you can do more than what I did last year.’
Courtois had to content himself with the Lev Yashin trophy for being the best keeper in world football last year.
The Russian legend remains the only keeper to ever win the Ballon d’Or, way back in 1963.
Vinicius Jr, who scored the winner in the Champions League final, placed eighth
Real midfielder Luka Modric came ninth in the rankings for the 2022 Ballon d’Or
Kroos also expressed his bewilderment that European champions Real placed beneath City and Liverpool, who they beat 1-0 in the Paris final in May, in the team of the year award.
The German midfielder tweeted: ‘3rd best team in 2021/22 – happy @realmadrid?’
City won the Premier League title but they were eliminated by Real at the semi-final stage of the Champions League. Liverpool finished second to City in the English top-flight, but won the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup.
Courtois was backed up by former Real keeper Iker Casillas, who wrote on Twitter: ‘I’m very happy for Thibaut Courtois!
Courtois won the Yashin award but Casillas felt he should have been in the top three overall
‘With a huge difference, the best goalkeeper in the world. What I’m not happy about is that he was not included in the final podium for the Ballon d’Or.
‘I still don’t understand what those who choose this award are based on.’
