Kylian Mbappe has disclosed who he is keen to vote for in the Ballon d’Or race – but has also revealed that he will again not be attending.
The ceremony will take place on Monday night at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, France, with Frenchman Ousmane Dembele the heavy favourite to take home the crown for the first time.
Also in the running is the likes of Lamine Yamal and Vitinha, while Mbappe himself, who has never won the trophy, is not expected to be a contender.
Players no longer vote for who they want to win the award, with journalists from 100 Fifa-ranked nations instead casting their votes for who they think should win the men’s award.
Mbappe, nonetheless, has been vocal of his support for countryman and former PSG team-mate Dembele. Dembele won the Champions League with Paris Saint-Germain last season, and is expected to lift the trophy.
The France captain, though, will not be there to see him lift it. He has revealed he will again boycott the ceremony, with the Real Madrid team also doing so last year.
Kylian Mbappe has revealed who he is backing to win the Ballon D’Or ahead of Monday’s ceremony
Ousmane Dembele (left) – Mbappe’s France team-mate – is the front-runner to take the award
‘I’ll watch the ceremony on television,’ Mbappe sad. ‘[I] hope Dembele wins.’
No player, member of the management nor coaching staff from Real was in attendance at the glitzy ceremony last year after they gained confidence in the outcome.
The shock news comes after it was reportedly leaked that the winner of football’s most iconic individual prize was Vinicius Jr.
But in a twist of fate this list was wrong and that the winner was in fact Manchester City’s midfield maestro, Rodri.
Ballon d’Or organisers urged ahead of the ceremony: ‘No player and no club knows the winner of this year’s Ballon d’Or yet.’
RMC had reported that ‘Real president Florentino Perez was furious’ and as a consequence, the ‘Real Madrid delegation has cancelled its visit to Paris’.
Vinicius was a hot favourite to win the 2024 Ballon d’Or after his epic contribution leading Madrid’s frontline to a LaLiga-UEFA Champions League double.
The Brazilian, 24, hit six goals and four assists in ten Champions League appearances and tallied 20 goal involvements in 26 LaLiga matches.
Mbappe will be boycotting the ceremony again after Vinicius Jnr (left) missed out on victory last year
Journalist Jose Luis Sanchez claimed a 50-strong party was scheduled to jet out, only for them to cancel after discovering Vinicius would not win.
Sources at the club told ESPN Brazil that the snub was ‘historic robbery’.
Marca also reported that Madrid insiders have furiously declared ‘the Ballon d’Or no longer exists for us’.
A statement from Madrid to AFP said: ‘If the award criteria doesn’t give it to Vinicius as the winner, those same criteria should point to Carvajal as the winner.
‘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.’
Vinicius and Jude Bellingham were set to take their seats in the front row at the Theatre du Chatelet but their name tags were swiftly removed after it was confirmed they would not be in attendance.
