UEFA issued an official statement in response to Real Madrid's complaints about the results of the 2024 Ballon d'Or. The highest body in European football supported 'France Football' in the organization of this year's gala, but the votes depended exclusively from the French magazine.
However, the 'White House' leaked some statements in which it pointed to the entity chaired by Aleksander Ceferin as indirectly responsible for the non-election of Vinicius Júnior as the best footballer in the world in 2024.
"We categorically deny the claims circulating about UEFA's alleged comments on the Ballon d'Or result. Neither UEFA nor its president have made any statements or comments on the results of the award selection," reads the UEFA statement.
UEFA could sue Real Madrid for defamation
Furthermore, the organization assures that "such information is totally unfounded and does not reflect reality", which is why it does not rule out taking legal action against the Madrid board "or any party involved in the dissemination of false statements."
For the Ballon d'Or election, only 100 correspondent journalists from 'France Football' belonging to the 100 federations best placed in the FIFA ranking (50, in the case of the women's category) voted.
Voters have a list of 30 candidates previously selected by the French magazine. Although Real Madrid was chosen as the best club of the year and its coach, Carlo Ancelotti, won the distinction for best coach, the club decided to suspend its delegation's trip to the gala after the election of Rodrigo Hernández as best footballer was leaked.