TMID Editorial: Real Madrid should know better
While Malta had all its eyes and ears on Parliament last Monday as Finance Minister Clyde Caruana read out his budget presentation, all eyes and ears of the football world were on Paris where this year's Golden Ball ceremony was taking place.Most foo
While Malta had all its eyes and ears on Parliament last Monday as Finance Minister Clyde Caruana read out his budget presentation, all eyes and ears of the football world were on Paris where this year's Golden Ball ceremony was taking place.
Most football fans were stunned by the behaviour of the most successful football club in history - Real Madrid - which deserted the event when, hours before it was due to be held, it became known that the top player's award would not have gone to one of their players.
In the weeks ahead of the event, Real Madrid's striker Vinicius Junior was being touted as the favourite to be crowned as the best football player on the planet.
But, on the day in question, and as the Real Madrid delegation was preparing to fly to the French capital, news began to filter that Manchester City midfielder Rodri had won the coveted prize. Rodri was among the protagonists that took Spain to win their fourth European title in the Euro 2024 final against England, which Spain won 2-1.
Real Madrid, who won the Champions League by beating Borussia Dortmund 2-0 in the final, won the title of Club of the Year. Their coach, Carlo Ancelotti, won the Coach of the Year award. Added to this, four Real Madrid players finished in the top six places in the players' list. But, apparently, this was not enough for the Spanish club. The Real Madrid delegation stayed home.
It is a pity that such a glorious club chose not to turn up for such an important occasion. It is the perfect example of unsportsmanlike behaviour, and it is not a surprise that many labelled the club as being a sore loser. The message that Real Madrid sent in this case was that "unless I win, I will not respect the ceremony" - and this is certainly not the way to do it.
Let us remember that Real Madrid is, by far, the club that has won the most in Europe and the world. It has picked up the European crown 15 times, more than double the second placed team in this list, AC Milan, with seven triumphs.
Real Madrid has also won the World Cup for clubs more than any other team too, a total of eight times, including both the Intercontinental Cup as it was known before the years 2000, and the FIFA Club World Cup as it is known today.
It is also the club that has taken home the highest number of Golden Balls, a total of 12 times.
A club with such a history has spotlights on it for anything that it does, and therefore is expected to set an example by its behaviour, both on and off the pitch.
Deserting a ceremony just because it expected one of its players to win a prize - which, on the whole, is subjective as it is based on the votes handed in by sports journalists - is a bad case of not being a sport.
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