During the Ballon d'Or awards process, lobbying sometimes makes a difference, and it often benefits Real Madrid. Los Merenguez is pushing Karim Benzema ahead of others, such as Bayern, who rarely do things the same way. Why is there such a big difference? We will do our best to explain. Twenty-three minutes, Real Madrid have waited 23 minutes, which is undoubtedly a good wait. Madrid-based Spain has just lost to France in the League final. 23 minutes later, Real Madrid sent a message to the French national team on their Twitter account. No words to the Spanish team. But the real goal of the tweet was to launch a campaign for the Ballon d'Or: "Congratulations to our brilliant player Benzema, the Ballon d'Or. 25,000 retweets, 80,000 likes. Real Madrid are not bothered by the National League or Les Bleus. They know it gave their centre-forward his first title of the season and he was a top scorer in the aforementioned tournament final. When it comes to the Golden Globes, it's all worth trying. If the verdict is uncertain, if no one knows which criterion will be the most influential, then one thing is certain: it is better to be a member of real Madrid in this fight. Real Madrid is a king who has crowned seven different players (a record) as they see individual trophies as a reward for the club. It's a matter of prestige. Ballon d'Or is part of the DNA of a club built by many stars. It is currently the only club that has a "Ballon d'Or Room" in its stadium. In the most prestigious places, according to the official website, there are armchairs there, because they are close to the pitch and offer the most perfect view.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="6" >REAL, an organized gang</h1>
It is necessary to remember that in Beckham's first year at the club, Real Madrid did not have a real midfielder, but this was a sacrifice made to accumulate all the Ballon d'Or awards, European sports Spanish journalist Enrique Sánchez told us. Real Madrid are the team that must bring together the best players in the world. You have to have a Ballon d'Or winner on your team, or win some. The Ballon d'Or even became a measure of a team's competitiveness. To justify Julen Lopetegui's dismissal in 2018, Florentino Pérez explained: "The head of the club pointed out that the results on the pitch are very different from the strength of a team with eight Ballon d'Or nominations".
You should know that the President of Real Madrid has won 17 Ballon d'Or awards for his club, including Michael Irving, Zidane and Kaka, who won their awards without wearing the Real Madrid shirt. It's a way to make Real Madrid a Ballon d'Or club (and Barcelona actually won more) and it's also an argument to attract players who haven't yet gained personal recognition, such as Kylian Mbappe, who knows at Real Madrid everything will be done to win them. So when autumn came, Real Madrid began its campaign. This year, after launching its tweets, Zidane, Fabio, Cannavaro, Luis Figo and Brazil's Ronaldo, former Ballon d'Or winners and former Real Madrid players, provided their support. Even Rome's last champions, Luka Modric, supported Benzema unconditionally: he deserves it, and I hope he wins. The attack was collective and organized. It's an old habit, and that's why Real Madrid won the Ballon d'Or, which are far from certain wins.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="13" > 2013, 2018: Real Madrid won two trophies</h1>
In 2018, France was the world champion, but Croatia gained individual recognition. The dispersion of votes between Mbappe, Griezmann and Varane opened the way for Modric. But runners-up organizers benefited from fierce lobbying from Real Madrid. Although Mbappe and Griezmann have campaigned in the media, Varane has never made a claim on his case. Because there is no question of disparaging the candidates elected in Madrid. With French football's "French players must win the Ballon d'Or" and ESPN's "I Dream of Winning the Ballon d'Or", Griezmann was part of an intense media campaign. Real Madrid had their captain retort, and their captain Sergio Ramos: "Ignorant people, they try everything. When I hear this boy, I think strongly of Totti, Buffon, Maldini, Xavi, Raul or Casillas, they have won everything, they have had a lot of trophies, but none have won the Ballon d'Or. Modric won. In 2013, Ribery was named UEFA Player of the Year and was a big hit. Cristiano Ronaldo wasn't even sure if he would travel to Switzerland for the awards ceremony. Madrid then began a marketing campaign that was unique in the history of the Golden Globes. On November 27, 45,000 fans wore Ronaldo masks in a painless Champions League match against Galatasaray. The banner read "Ballon de Cristian ORanldo." Two days before the jury vote ended, the stadium brandished the No. 7 white sheet. The Ballon d'Or is very important for Perez because Real Madrid have not won any victories in the previous 2012/13 seasons (say 2020/21, nudge), which has damaged the image, prestige and business of the club. Ronaldo will continue to win, and Ribery has yet to overcome it.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="20" > Spain was concerned, while Germany remained indifferent</h1>
Bayern don't have a Ballon d'Or program, it's not their style. Although Lewandowski and Lionel Messi pushed Benzema to win the award the most this year, the Frenchman knows that behind Real Madrid he has a real chance over the other two. In Munich, it's first and foremost a question about culture. Bayern have always defined themselves as a group, not a group of people, European sports German journalist Florian Bogner told us. In other words, having the best team in the world is more important than having the best players in the world. Within Bayern, few believe that winning the Ballon d'Or will have a big impact on the perception of the club. Some may even argue that winning the Ballon d'Or will only strengthen Lewandowski's influence in future contract negotiations. That's why Munich haven't won a Ballon d'Or since 1982, but since then they have had 25 Bundesliga titles and 3 Champions League titles. If Jurgen Klinsmann in 1995, Oliver Kahn in 2001 and 2002, Ribery in 2013 or Manuel Neuer in 2014 had played for Real Madrid, their fates could have been different. In Spain, they are fascinated by the Ballon d'Or, exacerbated by the frantic battle between Messi and Ronaldo, while Germany is a little bit farther away. The German public says the players have not benefited from lobbying and therefore are not worth bothering with pursuing trophies, Bogner continued. Fans want to know who is the best in the world, but for germans, FIFA's awards are more believable. So even if Lewandowski scored four goals against Leipzig this weekend, he shouldn't expect a tweet from the club.