Two Real Madrid players have had enough of "totally false" Diego Simeone

Real Madrid players Luka Modric and Thibaut Courtois have hit back at Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone over his recent criticism of their award wins.

The Atletico manager suggested a bias towards Real Madrid is why Modric and Courtois were honoured over other players at this year’s Ballon d’Or and FIFA Best Awards ceremonies.

Was Luka Modric’s Ballon d’Or win controversial?

• Modric became the first player in 10 years other than Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo to win the Ballon d’Or the award after his success with Real Madrid and Croatia.
• The decision came under criticism, with former Brazil star Rivaldo claiming Ronaldo should have won the award.
• Five-time winner Messi finished in fifth place behind Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe, Ronaldo and winner Modric.
• Gary Lineker tweeted: “I honestly think that those who decide on who wins the Ballon d’Or etc don’t watch La Liga, otherwise how could anyone else win but Messi.”

Simeone, who has since been accused of regularly playing psychological games with Real’s players, implied that Courtois – his former player at Atletico – picked up the best goalkeeper award because he went to Los Blancos.

“Courtois went to Real Madrid and earned the title of being the best goalkeeper in the world, but when he was with us Keylor Navas won the prize when he was at Levante,” he told Marca.

Simeone also suggested that Griezman should have won the Ballon d’Or: “I congratulate [Luka] Modric because I’m sure he had a good season. But, for me, the best ones were [Raphael] Varane and Griezmann.”

Modric responded to Simeone’s comments by calling the Argentine coach out for previous, and equally provocative, outbursts.

“I can understand Simeone defending one of his own players, Griezmann, and thinking he was the best, but it’s to his detriment that he feels the constant need to belittle Real Madrid and our players,” Modric told AS.

“He takes advantage of every opportunity to imply there is something else behind Real Madrid’s triumphs which is totally false.”

Modric went on to address Fifa and France Football’s Messi and Ronaldo snub: “For me, it’s quite simple – Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi are two phenomena who have dominated the game for the past ten years.

“If we were voting for the quality of a player, the trophies would always go to Messi and Cristiano – while both of them are still active, there would be no need to vote.

“But in this case, we are talking about performance and achievements over a brief period – over one season and the results come from votes cast by coaches, players and journalists… How can they all be wrong at the same time?”

Courtois, meanwhile, also hit back at the Atletico boss and pointed out that he spent all of last season at Stamford Bridge.

“Simeone criticizes Real Madrid to make himself popular amongst Atletico fans,” he told reporters after Saturday’s win over Rayo Vallecano.

“He always does it. He sends shots at Real Madrid because it’s the best club in the world.

“In my case, he said that I had won this trophy because I am at Real Madrid but during the World Cup I was at Chelsea. The Best award is voted by July when I wasn’t at Madrid, I don’t think it is right to under-rate me like that.”

Does Simeone regularly “belittle” Real Madrid?

This is not the first time and will likely not be the last time the Argentine coach is critical of his local rival in the Spanish capital. Simeone has regularly taken swipes at Los Blancos, often regarding the transfer market.

Last year, Simeone said: “Madrid snap up all the good players; the rest of us are not in a position to do the same.”

And the following November, he claimed that his local rivals have poached all the best young players from other clubs.

“They’ve won two Champions Leagues in a row and won La Liga last year. Right now, they’re better and they have taken all of the good kids from all of the different Spanish teams,” he told Marca.

“They keep making sure the others can’t get to these kids. They have them stockpiled, but they have them.”

This criticism was not without basis, though. During their Saturday’s 1-0 win over Rayo, Madrid named four substitutes who had been signed from other Spanish clubs before turning 23. These were, Dani Ceballos, Jesus Vallejo, Alvaro Ordirozola and Isco.

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