"They have no place" - When Real Madrid legend claimed Ballon d'Or has no importance in football

Real Madrid legend Toni Kroos once played down the importance of the Ballon d'Or in football. The German midfielder is one of the finest players of his generation, but has never secured a podium finish at the coveted awards.

Kroos retired from football last summer, and finished ninth in last year's rankings. The 2024 Ballon d'Or was a close call between Manchester City's Rodri, and Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior, with the Spaniard ultimately coming out on top.

Speaking ahead of the awards ceremony last October, as cited by GOAL, Kroos insisted that the coveted prize has no importance in football.

“Rodri will win the Ballon d’Or. I’ve never seen the importance of these individual awards in football, they have no place,” said Kroos.

The decision to award Rodri the top prize didn't go down well with Real Madrid, with their entire entourage, including Vinicius Jr, snubbing the award ceremony in protest. Fans were also divided on the outcome of the 2024 Ballon d'Or, with many believing that the Brazilian was the deserved winner.

The 24-year-old helped Los Blancos win the league and the Champions League in the 2023-24 campaign. He also lifted the Supercopa de Espana with the Spanish giants, finishing the season with 24 goals and 11 assists from 39 games.

Rodri, meanwhile, won the Premier League, the UEFA Super Cup, and the FIFA Club World Cup with Manchester City, and Euro 2024 with Spain. The Spaniard received 1170 points, while Vinicius finished second with 1129 points.

Who is the last Real Madrid player to win the Ballon d'Or?

Karim Benzema is the last Real Madrid player to have won the Ballon d'Or. The French forward won the coveted prize in 2022, with Sadio Mane and Kevin De Bruyne also securing podium finishes.

Benzema enjoyed a tremendous 2021-22 season with the LaLiga giants, finishing the campaign with 44 goals and 15 assists from 46 games across competitions. His efforts helped Los Blancos win the league and the Champions League that year, while they also lifted the Supercopa de Espana.

Benzema ended the campaign as the Champions League top scorer and was adjudged the Champions League Player of the Season as well. The Frenchman also won the Pichichi trophy after scoring the most goals (27) in LaLiga, and won the LaLiga Player of the Year award. The following summer, the 37-year-old left Real Madrid to move to Al-Ittihad, where he currently plies his trade.

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Deepungsu is a veteran football journalist who has been covering daily transfer roundups and news for over six years at Sportskeeda. He has written more than 9000 articles for the website, and has garnered over 20 million reads.

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Inspired by Diego Maradona, Deepungsu played as an attacking midfielder for his local club at subdivision level in his initial years and scored an important goal or two. However, his all-time favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and evidently, he feels Argentina's glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment for fulfilling his long-standing dream. He is also an ardent East Bengal fan.

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Edited by Deepungsu Pandit