Carlo Ancelotti was not upset that Manchester City were named team of the year at the Ballon d’Or ceremony on Monday, saying last season’s Champions League victory was proof of Real Madrid’s credibility.
Madrid finished third in the team award voting despite winning La Liga and the Champions League last season.
Liverpool finished second behind City, just like they did in the Premier League. The Reds also lost to Madrid in the Champions League final but won the EFL Cup and FA Cup last season. Indeed, Los Blancos also beat Josep Guardiola’s side on their way to their 14th European crown.
Ancelotti, however, insists that Madrid, which won the Supercopa in August and led La Liga after beating Barcelona in Sunday’s Clasico, is still the best.
At a press conference, he said: “I don’t know the criteria well because they don’t talk about the team. Madrid is the best team, that’s why they won the Champions League.
“I fully respect this award. In May, we received the most important award.”
What a night! Our Highlights #BallonOr Club of the Year Awards Ceremony! pic.twitter.com/znTpln3mwu
— Manchester City (@ManCity) October 17, 2022
However, on Monday, Madrid were successful, with Karim Benzema taking home the top individual prize after his amazing 2021-2022 season, becoming the first French player to do so since Zinedine Zidane in 1998.
Benzema, 34, led Madrid to their success against all odds – at least in the Champions League.
However, when asked if he was surprised by his accomplishments after returning from Everton to Real Madrid last year, Ancelotti replied: “No, I don’t think so. What we have achieved so far has been very good.
“It’s not that surprising for me, there is everything for success here: history, traditions, competition, quality of players, atmosphere … At the beginning of last season, I had much more doubts than now.”
Benzema scored 44 goals last season, a tally bested only by Robert Lewandowski (50) among players in Europe’s top five leagues.
Next on the list after Benzema was Kylian Mbappé, who scored 39 goals for Paris Saint-Germain and seemed poised to join his French teammate at Madrid until he changed his mind.
Reports last week claimed that Mbappe now wants to leave PSG, though he denied those rumors on Monday.
When asked if Mbappe deserved another chance to sign for the club, Ancelotti instead opted to welcome the next generation already at the Santiago Bernabéu.
“What is the future? I dont know. On a personal level, I don’t know what could happen,” he said.
“The future of this club and this team is already determined by young players like Vinicius. [Junior]Rodrigo, [Aurelien] Chuameni, [Eduardo] camavinga, [Federico[ Valverde, [Eder] Militao… who have already predicted the future of this team.
“Players change, but these players have shown what the future of Real Madrid will be like.