Real Madrid Embraces Ballon d'Or with Four Nominees for 2026

For a year, Real Madrid treated the Ballon d'Or as if it had vanished from football’s map. No posts, no congratulations, no polite acknowledgements. Just silence.

Now, that freeze is over.

The club have publicly embraced the 2026 Ballon d'Or race, hailing four of their own – Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Jr., Jude Bellingham and Marc Cucurella – after all were named among the 30 nominees for the award. The recognition arrived on the club’s social media channels and official website, a clear signal that the stand-off with France Football has eased, at least on the surface.

“Mbappe, Vini Jr., Bellingham and Cucurella are among the 30 candidates for the 2026 Ballon d'Or, awarded by France Football. The nominees have been selected for their performances during the 2025/26 season,” read the club’s statement.

Simple. Direct. Very different from the fury of 2024.

From outrage to silence

The roots of this story lie in that combustible 2024 edition.

Back then, Real Madrid were convinced Vinicius Jr. had done enough to be crowned the best player in the world. He had been electric in La Liga, decisive in the Champions League, and central to a 2023/24 campaign that delivered both trophies to the Bernabeu. Inside the club, many saw his coronation as a formality.

Instead, Rodri’s name was called.

The reaction in Madrid was immediate and visceral. Club figures saw the decision as a glaring injustice, an affront to what Vinicius had produced on the pitch. Their delegation, already in place for the gala, chose not to attend once it became clear the Brazilian would not win.

The anger did not stay behind closed doors.

On 28 October 2024, RMTV carried a blunt message that cut through the usual diplomatic language of football politics: “Right now, the Ballon d'Or no longer exists.”

Those words framed the club’s stance. Real Madrid were not just disappointed; they were done.

Programming reflected that mood. Almost five hours of special Ballon d'Or coverage, prepared for the club’s official channel, disappeared from the schedule. No build-up, no analysis, no reaction. When the 30 nominees were unveiled that year, the club stayed quiet. When PSG’s Ousmane Dembele eventually lifted the trophy, the silence continued.

For an institution that has historically wrapped itself around individual honours – from Alfredo Di Stefano to Cristiano Ronaldo – the blackout was striking.

A calculated reset

That is what makes this week’s shift so notable.

The club have not issued any grand reconciliation statement. They have not revisited the 2024 controversy or softened their view of that vote. But by publicly celebrating their 2026 nominees, Real Madrid have effectively reopened the door to the Ballon d'Or stage they once dominated.

This is not a minor list, either. Mbappe, Vinicius Jr., Bellingham and Cucurella give Madrid a powerful presence in the final 30. It underlines how deeply the club remain woven into the game’s elite conversation, regardless of last year’s protest.

The tone has changed. The message, though brief, is unmistakable: Real Madrid are back in the Ballon d'Or conversation, back engaging with the award they so loudly disowned.

The question now is not whether they care. It is whether one of their own finally walks away with the Golden Orb that sparked such bitterness two years ago.