Ballon d'Or ceremony starts without boycotting Real Madrid

The Ballon d'Or ceremony got underway on Monday in the absence of Real Madrid stars Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham after the Spanish club said it would boycott over a perceived snub of its players.

The Spanish and European champions earlier on Monday told AFP it questioned the methods behind the selection of the Ballon d'Or winner, saying that their defender Dani Carvajal, another of the 30 players nominated, had also been unfairly overlooked.

"If the award criteria doesn't give it to Vinicius as the winner, then those same criteria should point to Carvajal as the winner," Real Madrid told AFP.

"As this was not the case, it is clear that Ballon d'Or-Uefa does not respect Real Madrid. And Real Madrid does not go where it is not respected."

The seven players from the Madrid contingent that were shortlisted for the individual award, including Kylian Mbappe, Antonio Rudiger, Fede Valverde and the retired Toni Kroos, did not show up to walk the red carpet at Paris' Chatelet Theatre before the ceremony began.

For this year's edition, the organisers had decided to keep the winner's identity secret until the on-stage announcement.

With the absence of the Madrid's double-winning stars, especially that of the bookmakers' favourite Vinicius, many are now tipping Manchester City and Spain midfielder Rodri to win the award.

However, the Ballon d'Or organisers told AFP that "no player or club" knows in advance who will win the award.

The Ballon d'Or is awarded by a jury of journalists representing the top 100 nations in the Fifa rankings.