Midfielder Jude Bellingham was awarded the prestigious Di Stefano award for the best player in La Liga 2023/24, however his absence at the awards ceremony caused controversy and criticism from the organizers .
At the annual MARCA Football Journalism Awards ceremony held Monday at the Luis Aragones Hall of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), Jude Bellingham was honored with the Di Stefano Award for The best player in La Liga for the 2023/24 season.
This is a worthy reward for the iconic contributions of the English midfielder at Real Madrid with 19 goals and 6 assists after 28 matches, including 7 decisive goals that brought victory, including including a double against Barcelona.
However, the incident caused controversy when Bellingham was not present to address the issue because he was gathering with the England team. This made MARCA Director Juan Ignacio Gallardo unhappy and openly criticized: “I don’t really understand. Real Madrid is suddenly turned into awards.”
This statement was made in the context that Real Madrid had previously boycotted the Golden Ball award ceremony after learning that Vinicius Junior would not receive the main award.
The Di Stefano Award has a prestigious history with its previous owners being the world’s top stars. Among them are Lionel Messi with 7 wins (2008-2011, 2014/15 and 2016-2018), Cristiano Ronaldo with 5 wins (2011-2014 and 2015/16), and most recently Marc-Andre Ter. Stegen (2022/23), Karim Benzema (2019/20 and 2021/22), Luis Suarez (2020/21).
In addition to the main award going to Bellingham, the ceremony also honored Real Betis’ Isco Alarcan with the fans’ favorite award. The player born in Malaga shared his joy when receiving the award: “I feel better now, nearing the end of the injury that could have lasted from two months to three months but lasted up to six months. I am very happy.” Utilize and help teammates.”
This year’s event also has special meaning when the organizers dedicate a part to remember and pay tribute to the victims of storm DANA, which devastated the Valencia region and other areas of Spain at the end of October.
Bellingham’s absence and the statement of the Director of MARCA once again increased debate about Real Madrid’s relationship with individual awards. However, it is impossible to deny the English midfielder’s outstanding contributions this season, as he quickly asserted an important role at Santiago Bernabeu and became one of La Liga’s brightest stars.