Tarz Press: Just hours before the official start of the 2024 Ballon d’Or ceremony, the football world’s biggest secret was unveiled—and only one person was initially in on it. It all began when Real Madrid found out that Vinícius Júnior was not the award winner, disrupting the surprise plan crafted by France Football.
Vincent Garcia, editor of L’Équipe and the event’s organizer, was the only one who knew the final result until the last moment. He was committed to keeping it under wraps so that the players and audience at Paris’s Théâtre du Châtelet would witness the announcement with genuine surprise. Despite all precautions, however, the news leaked, and Real Madrid was made aware of the outcome.
According to Garcia’s security measures, not even the winning club was supposed to know the result, and no interview with the winner was arranged before the official announcement. Garcia and the ceremony’s producer intended this to be a stunning moment for the world of football. But somehow, the valuable information found its way to the media and, especially, Real Madrid, who became privy to the final outcome.
Upon learning this, Real Madrid decided to cancel the attendance of 50 club representatives who had initially confirmed their presence and refrained from traveling to Paris. This reaction astonished the event’s organizers, with the EFE news agency reporting that they described the club’s decision as incomprehensible.
Garcia, in an interview, mentioned the pressure he faced from clubs and player representatives to reveal the result: Many tried to get a hint of the winner, but we changed the rules and will adhere to them.
In his conversation with reporters, Garcia shared that Real Madrid had pressured him to confirm whether Vinícius was the winner, and his silence might have led them to conclude otherwise. I was unpleasantly surprised by their decision, but I don’t want to spend the night talking about this, he said. I’d rather talk about Rodri, who is our winner.
