Real Madrid has dug in its heels and has too many conflicting fronts open. The latest is the one with France and the Ballon d'Or once the French trauma of losing Mbappé seemed to have been overcome.
The wounds from Real Madrid's absence from the Ballon d'Or ceremony will take time to heal. It was a decision of the club to cancel the trip to Paris led by a white expedition of 50 people.
Mbappé is Worried about the Real Madrid-France Divorce
All those affected accepted the decision, which doesn't mean that they agreed with it. Mbappé is among those who don't understand the step that Real Madrid has taken and that represents a tremendous cost to its image worldwide.
Just as he has broken ties with Barça, Florentino Pérez has no problem breaking ties with France. If that is his objective, he's on the right track.
Mbappé is not happy about it, though. The tighter the rope gets, the more the French star suffers.
Mbappé signed for Real Madrid to win the Ballon d'Or and the Champions League and now he sees that it will be difficult, if not impossible, to achieve both objectives.
This will be especially true if Real Madrid continues to fight with France Football and UEFA . Mbappé's been able to see that something is happening in UEFA against Real Madrid when France Football didn't dare to award the Ballon d'Or to Vinícius, the best.
The Ballon d'Or is Becoming Impossible for Mbappé
If the situation doesn't calm down, he will be the next collateral damage in the conflict between Real Madrid and the Ballon d'Or organisation. He will hardly be able to win it, as was his intention, if both sides don't sign a peace treaty.
And that doesn't seem likely to happen anytime soon. French pride has been hurt by Florentino's snub. Likewise, his own pride was affected by the contempt suffered by Vinícius.
The most obvious victim of this mess is Vinícius. He's been left without the Ballon d'Or. But there are more: Mbappé, Bellingham, Carvajal...
Let everyone forget about the Ballon d'Or, at least for now.