Real Madrid won the Champions League and the Spanish Championship last season. In the Ballon d’Or team classification, the royals still only take third place. Rio world champion Toni Kroos has nothing but mockery left. Julian Nagelsmann also raises objections.
Real Madrid’s soccer player Toni Kroos reacted with irony to the Ballon d’Or election 2022 for team of the year. After the English champions Manchester City were voted the best club of the previous round in Paris on Monday evening instead of the Champions League winners from Spain, the 32-year-old wrote on Twitter: “3rd best team in 2021/22 – happy @realmadrid? ” (“3rd best team 2021/22 – happy, Real Madrid?”).
Other Reals football greats also expressed their displeasure with the “Club of the Year” election, in which Madrid also ended up behind Liverpool FC. “It was a bit strange for all of us,” said keeper Thibaut Courtois, who won the Best Goalkeeper award. Iker Casillas, one of Courtois’ predecessors in Real Goal, tweeted: “Premios de broma.” (“Joke Prizes”). In addition to the Champions League, Real also won the Spanish championship last season.
But the fact that Real ended up behind City and Liverpool has a special reason: the rules of the Ballon d’Or organizer “France Football” stipulate that “Club of the Year” has been awarded to the team and their players since 2021 are the most represented in the Ballon d’Or shortlists. Here the Skyblues and the Reds, each with six players, were ahead of the royal team with five. Ironically, Kroos was missing from this list.
Julian Nagelsmann also commented on the election. The FC Bayern coach would have done differently when choosing the best U21 player at the Ballon d’Or ceremony and opted for Bayern star Jamal Musiala or Dortmund’s Jew Bellingham. “In my eyes, both Jamal and Jude Bellingham played better seasons than the winner,” he said. Munich’s Musiala and Borussia Dortmund’s Bellingham were among the five nominated players for the Kopa Trophy, finishing third and fourth respectively. The award went to FC Barcelona’s Gavi of Spain ahead of Real Madrid’s Eduardo Camavinga of France.
Gavi’s first place is not undeserved. “He has an extreme winning mentality, even for his age. Very poisonous,” said Nagelsmann and certified the Catalan’s “terrier component paired with a very good footballer,” said Nagelsmann. “Nevertheless, I see Jamal or Jude Bellingham a little ahead, I would have chosen the other way around.” Nagelsmann said it was a matter of taste for these two players. “It’s a neck-and-neck race for Jude and Jamal. Depending on your taste, what you prefer to see – more like a box-to-box player or a very fine footballer in the red zone,” said the Bayern Trainer.
Nagelsmann added that he didn’t want any trouble with Barcelona. It was in the summer after Nagelsmann spoke about the Catalans’ purchasing policy. “It’s the only club in the world that has no money, but buys any player he wants. It’s kind of weird, kind of crazy,” Nagelsmann said. Barça President Joan Laporta had criticized Nagelsmann afterwards. And this time? Nagelsmann joked on the way out of the press conference room. So Mr. Laporta will definitely call again, said the Bayern coach.
