Real Madrid Celebrates Four Players on 2026 Ballon d'Or Shortlist

For a year, Real Madrid treated the Ballon d'Or as if it had vanished from the football map. No posts. No congratulations. Not even a passing mention on club channels.

Now, the silence is over.

The Spanish giants have broken their self-imposed blackout, publicly celebrating four of their own on the 30-man shortlist for the 2026 Ballon d'Or: Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Jr., Jude Bellingham and Marc Cucurella. The club pushed the news across social media and its official website, a sharp change of tone after last season’s very deliberate snub.

From outrage to engagement

This is not a story of a club rediscovering relevance. Real Madrid never left the Ballon d'Or conversation on the pitch. They walked away from it off it.

The rupture dates back to 2024, when Rodri claimed the award ahead of Vinicius Jr. despite the Brazilian’s starring role in a La Liga and Champions League double in the 2023/24 campaign. Inside Valdebebas, the reaction was visceral. The club saw the outcome as a glaring injustice, and they did not bother to hide it.

Once it became clear Vinicius would not be crowned, the Real Madrid delegation chose not to attend the ceremony at all. The message hardened days later. On 28 October 2024, RMTV broadcast a blunt line that echoed across Europe: “Right now, the Ballon d'Or no longer exists.”

That was not empty rhetoric. The club pulled the plug on nearly five hours of special Ballon d'Or programming that had been prepared for their in-house channel. When the 30 nominees were unveiled for the 2025 edition, Real Madrid did not acknowledge a single name, nor did they react when PSG’s Ousmane Dembele eventually lifted the trophy.

For the most decorated club in European football, it was a boycott in all but name.

A new list, a new stance

This season tells a different story.

The 30 nominees for the 2026 Ballon d'Or were announced, and this time Madrid did not look away. They leaned in. The club highlighted Mbappe, Vinicius Jr., Bellingham and Cucurella as part of the final shortlist, presenting the recognition as a reward for their performances during the 2025/26 season.

“Mbappe, Vini Jr., Bellingham and Cucurella are among the 30 candidates for the 2026 Ballon d'Or, awarded by France Football. The nominees have been selected for their performances during the 2025/26 season,” read the official communication.

No barbs. No veiled criticism. Just a straightforward acknowledgement that the most prestigious individual award in the game still matters in Madrid, and that their players are once again at the heart of it.

The shift does not erase the anger of 2024, nor the sense within the club that Vinicius paid the price for something beyond his football. It does, however, signal a truce. For now, Real Madrid and the Ballon d'Or are back in the same room.

The question is no longer whether they will engage. It is whether one of their own will walk away with the Golden Orb this time.