Real Madrid hope to attain incredible Ballon d'Or feat that has been achieved only 2 times in history - Reports
Real Madrid are hoping to attain an unprecedented Ballon d'Or feat, which has been achieved only twice in the history of the award. The Spanish giants have seven players on the 2024 shortlist of the award, an impressive achievement. They won the UEFA Champions League, La Liga, and Supercopa de Espana last season.
Vinicius Junior, Federico Valverde, Antonio Rudiger, Jude Bellingham, and Dani Carvajal have all been shortlisted for the award. Toni Kroos, who retired from club football after lifting the Champions League trophy, made the list as well. Kylian Mbappe, who spent last season at Paris Saint-Germain, has also been nominated.
With seven players in the 30-man Ballon d'Or shortlist, Real Madrid have a strong chance of potentially seeing the award won by their player. However, they are also gunning for a truly remarkable feat. They are hoping to have the Ballon d'Or podium filled with only Los Blancos superstars (via MadridXtra).
So far, it has happened only twice in history, back in 1988 with AC Milan and in 2010 with Barcelona. In 1988, Marco van Basten won the trophy, with Ruud Gullit in second place and Frank Rijkaard in third. The trio played for Milan and were from the Netherlands.
In 2010, all three players might not have been from the same country, but they were from the same youth academy: La Masia. Lionel Messi won the Ballon d'Or, with Andres Iniesta in second place, and Xavi in third. Real Madrid will hope they can achieve this feat with their players.
When Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti pushed for Toni Kroos to win Ballon d'Or
Earlier this year, before they secured the Champions League, Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti spoke about Toni Kroos winning the Ballon d'Or. The midfielder was a brilliant force in their midfield, helping them win La Liga and do the continental double.
Ahead of the final against Borussia Dortmund, Ancelotti revealed that he would like Kroos to win the award, although he admitted that it would not happen. The manager said (via Football Espana):
“Ballon d’Or for Kroos? I would like it, but he won’t win it. Maybe he can, anything can happen. There is the Euros this summer. He could fight for the Ballon d’Or if he wins Champions League and the Euros with Germany.”
While Kroos did win the Champions League, retiring from club football afterwards, he failed to lead Germany to win the Euros. If he wins the award, he would notably do so as a retired footballer.