Real Madrid are flying high on and off the pitch currently. Los Blancos returned to the summit of La Liga on Sunday with their El Clasico victory. On Monday night the great and good of football turned up to the Ballon d’Or gala in Paris, from which Real Madrid once again flew home successful.
Karim Benzema picked up the main award, crowning a scintillating season, while Thibaut Courtois picked up the Lev Yashin award for the best goalkeeper. In the overall voting for the Ballon d’Or, Courtois came seventh.
Speaking to Sport after the award, Courtois was pleased to win the Yashin award but let out his frustration with the entire voting system.
“You win La Liga and you win the Champions League, your team wins thanks to your saves… and you only finish seventh.”
“In the top 10 there wasn’t even a single defender. At least this year they have invented the trophy for best goalkeeper.”
It is hard to argue too much against Courtois. The Belgian has a clear claim that he was as responsible for Real Madrid’s triumphs as Benzema, while he set records in the Champions League too, making more saves than anyone else. However it does reflect the fact that on the whole, football appears to value attacking players more.
