Real Madrid fans across the globe took the club’s decision to skip the Ballon d’Or festivities with positivity as it offered a great show of support to Vinicius Jr who was said to be the favourite to win the award.
Rodri’s victory, in no way, can be deemed a robbery for the player deserved it equally. However, it was the manner in which false information had been spread about Vinicius and the biased use of criteria that riled up the Merengues’ administration.
To the outside world, however, Real Madrid’s absence at the event was not received as well and was seen as a show of ‘victimhood’ and poor sportsmanship.
As revealed in a recent update by El Chiringuito, Italian news giants Tuttosport who organise the Golden Boy awards have written to Florentino Perez as of earlier this week.
In the personal letter, they expressed their solidarity with the club after the recent disappointment and acknowledged that Vinicius and the club had been disrespected in Paris.
"All our solidarity for your decision to support Vinicius Jr. and not go to Paris, where Real Madrid have been disrespected. This is what we wrote in Tuesday’s newspaper. A hug from Turin," the letter read, signed in the name of Guido Vaciago, the Director of Tuttosport.
As relayed in the letter, the Italians firmly believe that Los Blancos and the player were disrespected on the night in Paris.
After all, it was not just the final result but also how they displayed memes around Vinicius in the buildup to the ceremony.
Despite his heartbreak, the player came out on his social media to insist that he will come back stronger until they cannot deny him the award and it remains to be seen how he turns up for the team’s upcoming games.