The key factor that Toni Kroos believes stole him the Ballon d'Or of the mic-drop of the career.

Real Madrid looks as if it will have another one Ballon d'Or winner among their ranks, with Vinicius Junior set to collect the award from France Football on Monday night in Paris. However, the Brazilian is not the only candidate from the Santiago Bernabeu, with Jude Bellingham and Toni Kroos nominated.

At one point, it looked like Kroos might exit the game in fairytale fashion, having ended his club career with a Champions League and La Liga double for Real Madrid, but an extra-time loss in Spain at Euro 2024 left a bitter. taste in his end of the game. Ace for ReliefKroos has privately commented that he believes the game prevented him from winning the Ballon d'Or award.

Kroos expressed his frustration at the absence of a penalty given for Marc Cucurella's handball, which UEFA has since recognized as an error. His opinion is that if they were to pass courtesy of that potential penalty, he would have had a good chance of winning the Ballon d'Or, and of winning the Euros.

As it is, the 34-year-old looks unlikely to win the award, despite more than credit for his season at Real Madrid. His impact seems even more evident now, with Real Madrid struggling to put together a solid 90 minutes without him. Clearly, his exit is not the only reason, but it only serves to highlight how important it was.