Real Madrid boycotts the Ballon d'Or as Vinicius Jr. will lose to Rodri

Real Madrid players failed to turn up for the Ballon d'Or ceremony in Paris because they believe star striker Vinicius Jr will be beaten out for the top prize by Manchester City and Spanish midfielder Rodri.

The Real Madrid delegation reportedly canceled their trip to Monday night's ceremony at the last minute when the “leaked results” of the prestigious award showed Rodri had received the most votes ahead of Vinicius and Jude Bellingham.

Real Madrid lost 4-0 to rivals Barcelona on Saturday evening Clasico Since then, there has been a complete blackout of posts on the club's social media channels, with no mention of the Ballon d'Or ceremony.

Brazil international Vinicius Jr. has long been considered favorite to win the Ballon d'Or after playing a prominent role in the club's Champions League and LaLiga titles last season, but the 24-year-old will be back in the Expected to finish second overall.

And although Real Madrid were named men's club of the year after winning their 15th European Cup and 36th Spanish league title, no one from the club was present to accept the award and the ceremony moved on quickly.

Rodri is expected to go on to become the first defensive midfielder to win the Ballon d'Or. The 28-year-old will be named player of the tournament at this summer's European Championships as Spain beat England in the final in Berlin.

Rodri, out for the rest of the season with an anterior cruciate ligament injury, would follow Lionel Messi in becoming just the fifth player since 2007 to win the individual award – with most of those awards going to either Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo.

Balloon d'Or voting is determined by a jury of journalists from the 100 countries with the highest FIFA rankings, and Rodri's victory has led to an apparent boycott of the awards at the Théâtre du Chatelet by the Spanish club.

In addition to Vinicius Jr. and Bellingham, Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappé, Antonio Rüdiger, Dani Carvajal and retired midfielder Toni Kroos were also nominated for the best men's coach award, while Carlo Ancellotti was shortlisted for the men's coach award year came.

Real Madrid were also considered favorites to win the Men's Club of the Year award after winning their record 15th European Cup in last season's Champions League final, but president Florentino Perez has also reportedly joined the boycott.

Another star player who will not be at the Ballon d'Or ceremony tonight is Manchester City striker Erling Haaland, who has instead traveled to Sweden to see if his former club Malmö can win the league .

Haaland, who finished second in the Ballon d'Or voting last season, traveled to Malmö ahead of the game against rivals IFK Göteborg, where a win would see him win his second Allsvenskan title in a row and fourth in five years.

Malmö's game against IFK began 50 minutes before the start of the Ballon d'Or ceremony in Paris.