SCANDAL: Leaked audios reveal Sergio Ramos asked Luis Rubiales to help him win the Ballon d’Or in 2020

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Sergio Ramos, then captain of Real Madrid, asked Luis Rubiales, president of the Spanish Football Federation, for help in winning the Ballon d’Or in the summer of 2020. That’s according to audios leaked by El Confidencial as carried by Mundo Deportivo.

The conversation took place between July and August of 2020, shortly after Madrid won La Liga in the Coronavirus-interrupted edition. Madrid came out of the mid-season break like a train and Ramos was a huge part of their success, pulling them through to glory.

“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,” Ramos has been recorded as saying to Rubiales. “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.”

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Rubiales responded by saying that he believes the Andalusian deserves to win the Ballon d’Or and wished him well in the Champions League campaign that was about to take place. And he said, while winning the Ballon d’Or doesn’t depend on him, he is willing to help Ramos out in anyway that he can. But the Ballon d’Or was suspended that year.

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