Ramos allegedly spoke to the Spanish FA to help him win the award
Leaked audio recordings of Sergio Ramos reportedly asking the Spanish Football Federation (SFF) to help him with the Ballon d'Or have emerged.
Spanish news outlet
Confidencial, via
Mundo Deportivo, have said that Ramos - who was captain of Real Madrid at the time - had conversations with the former head of the SFF, Luis Rubiales in 2020
In the conversation between the two, Ramos can be clearly heard trying to persuade Rubiales to back him to become the first defender since Fabio Cannavaro to win football's biggest individual accolade.
'I would like you to help me in whatever way you can and use your connections at UEFA linked to the Ballon d'Or'
The ex-Spain international can be heard saying: "You know that I've never asked you for anything but if I want to do it today it's because I think this has been a special year for the performances I've delivered.
"I would like you to help me in whatever way you can and use your connections at
UEFA linked to the
Ballon d'Or.
"I would be grateful to you all my life, not only for me but also because I think Spanish football deserves it very much."
The 'special year' that Ramos referred to was his role in helping Madrid win the LaLiga title in the 2019/2020 campaign.
After a delay to the end of the season due to the covid-19 pandemic, Los Blancos came back with a run of 11 unbeaten games - including 10 wins in a row - to win the league.
Rubiales admitted that he wanted to help Ramos
Mundo Deportivo reported that Rubiales wished Ramos luck and told him that he deserved to win the Ballon d'Or and that while he had no actual say in who would win, he would do his best to help.
But despite the efforts, the awards were eventually cancelled due to the ongoing pandemic and no winner was announced.
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