Cristiano Ronaldo refused to vote at Ballon d'Or ceremony and snubbed invite

Cristiano Ronaldo has been an ever-present at Ballon d’Or ceremonies in the past, but the Portuguese ace was nowhere to be seen at Monday’s event.

As a former Ballon d’Or winner, Ronaldo reserves the right to attend all future ceremonies regardless of if he’s up for the main prize.

But, much like his old foe Lionel Messi, Ronaldo snubbed his invite and also reportedly didn’t vote for the Kopa Trophy winner.

Speaking to The Times, the Ballon d’Or award chief Vincent Garcia said: “Winners have the right to come back to all future ceremonies but they don’t all come, some are very upset with us.

“I don’t know for certain Cristiano is, I don’t talk to him directly, but I know for example that former winners vote for the Kopa Trophy – for the best young player – and Cristiano didn’t vote last year and he didn’t vote this year either.”

Unsurprisingly, talented teen Lamine Yamal took home the Kopa Trophy on the back of a stellar breakout season for the Barcelona starlet.

Yamal followed in the footsteps of his fellow La Masia graduates, Gavi and Pedri, as a Kopa Trophy winner, with Matthijs de Ligt, Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham also previous victors.

But Ronaldo’s no-show came amid a dramatic night of action in Paris, during which no Real Madrid delegates turned up to the event.

The likes of Carlo Ancelotti, Jude Bellingham and Mbappe all refused to attend the show, with reports claiming they sat it out because Vinicius Junior missed out on the Ballon d’Or.

Vini Jr had been a front-runner for the coveted trophy, but a late twist on Monday afternoon saw Manchester City’s Rodri emerge as the favourite instead.

As a ‘show of support’ the Real Madrid delegation didn’t turn up to the French capital, even though they won several awards on the night.

Mbappe shared the Gerd Muller trophy with Harry Kane, Carlo Ancelotti was awarded Manager of the Year, and Real Madrid took home the Club of the Year trophy.

However, rather embarrassingly, an empty stage greeted any Real Madrid-related announcements at the Theatre du Chatelet.

It didn’t take the spotlight off Rodri, who became the first City player to win the award, as well as the first Spaniard in over 60 years.

On his achievement, the 28-year-old said: “Incredible night for me. One of my key things is I always try to improve every game.

“I just want to say thank you again to the people who recognise my value in the game. When I was a kid I never thought of winning the Ballon d’Or, but in the last years I’ve been playing the highest level.”