Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti, currently managing Real Madrid, chose not to dwell on sports topics or last week’s Ballon d’Or awards out of respect for those affected by the DANA storms in the Valencian Community. Ancelotti downplayed his own award for Best Coach, saying that his true “Ballon d’Or was on June 1,” when his team won the Champions League.

"I'm happy. The Ballon d’Or has passed. Congratulations to all the winners, and that’s it. My Ballon d’Or was June 1 when we won the European Cup,” he said in a press conference.

Ancelotti also noted that Vinícius Jr. is unaffected by missing out on the Ballon d’Or for best player, which went to Rodrigo Hernández. 

"Vinícius is fine, just like us. Unfortunately, the match against Valencia didn’t happen, which gave us time to prepare for Milan; he trained well, like everyone else,” Ancelotti shared. 

“It’s a tough week, not because of the Ballon d’Or, but due to the events happening in Spain,” he concluded.