Spanish media have responded to Jude Bellingham's silence after Real Madrid teammate Vinicius Junior surprisingly missed out on the 2024 Ballon d'Or award.
The 2024 Ballon d'Or ceremony took place on Monday night, presenting the best football players in the world with the most prestigious award in the sport.
Heading into the evening, Real Madrid superstar Vinicius Jr was the favourite to win the award but instead it was Manchester City's Rodri that took home the 2024 Ballon d'Or, leading to outrage from Madrid officials.
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But clearly absent from Madrid's online protests was Bellingham, who is yet to post a reaction to the surprise Ballon d'Or result, and Spanish media have noticed his silence.
Days after the Ballon d'Or ceremony, Spanish outlet AS published a report claiming that Bellingham has now been displaced as the star man at Madrid due to the arrival of Kylian Mbappe over the summer.
Following his huge £113m in June 2023, the 21-year-old was the standout star for Madrid in his first season, scoring 23 goals to help his side claim both the LaLiga and the Champions League titles.
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However, AS report that Mbappe is now seen as the face of Madrid, leading manager Carlo Ancelotti to tweak his tactics, pushing Bellingham into a deeper role to accommodate the Frenchman.
Bellingham's fall in the pecking order in the star-studded Real team is perhaps best seen in the club's official statement reacting to Vinicius missing out on the 2024 Ballon d'Or award.
The Brazilian winger finished second in the final Ballon d'Or rankings, with Bellingham following behind in third.
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And yet, when voicing their outrage at Vinicius not being awarded the 2024 Ballon d'Or, Real Madrid stated that they believed that right-back Dani Carvajal was the other worthy winner from the club, snubbing the Englishman.
The club statement read: "If the criteria of the award do not proclaim Vinicius the winner, those same criteria must proclaim Carvajal the winner.
"Since this has not been the case, it is obvious that the Ballon d'Or and UEFA do not respect Real Madrid.
"And Real Madrid does not go where it is not respected."
Topics: Real Madrid, Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior, Ballon d'Or, Kylian Mbappe, Carlo Ancelotti, Football, La Liga
Ben McCrum