Former World Cup winner Mats Hummels has likened Real Madrid's collective snub of this year's Ballon d'Or ceremony to Donald Trump's continued denial of the 2020 US presidential election result.
The sharply dressed Hummels turned up to the event in Paris on Monday night as one of the 30 players nominated for the men's Ballon d'Or after helping Borussia Dortmund reach last summer's Champions League final. The veteran defender finished joint-last, while second-place Vinicius Junior didn't turn up.
Once it became clear that neither the Brazilian nor Madrid's right-back Dani Carvajal would claim the prestigious individual accolade, the Spanish club refused to send a single representative to the ceremony.
Hummels criticised Madrid's behaviour, drawing an unusual comparison on his podcast Alleine ist Schwer shortly after the event. "I try to make it somewhat political and diplomatic... because you haven't won an election, it does have a bit of a Trumpian quality," he claimed.
"Unfortunately, it's disrespectful to the others who are there. That's the bad thing."
Trump infamously refused to accept his defeat to Democratic candidate Joe Biden in the 2020 US election, describing the supposedly false result as "the scam of the century".
Real Madrid haven't been quite as emphatic. There were no angry hordes of fans descending upon the Theatre du Chatelet, but the Spanish giants did claim: "It is obvious that the UEFA Ballon d'Or does not respect Real Madrid. And Real Madrid is not where it is not respected."
This supposed disrespect didn't stop the club's manager, Carlo Ancelotti, from being named Men's Coach of the Year or Real Madrid as an entire institution getting recognised as the Men's Club of the Year.
Rather than any Real Madrid representative, Manchester City's Rodri claimed the top prize.
Hummels hailed the Spanish midfielder as a worthy winner. "He has won the FA Cup [in 2023], the Premier League, Euro 2024, has lost one of his last 80 games and scores important goals," the 2014 World Cup winner with Germany explained.
"There's no question that someone from Real would have deserved it too. But there are other amazing players too. They're all so good. And then not to give them the credit is really mean."
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