Real Madrid secure 35th La Liga title
“Karim, Ballon d’Or”, were the chants from the Real Madrid supporters inside the Santiago Bernabeu, with the striker applauding in response. He’d just scored what would turn out to be the winner against Athletic Bilbao to put his side seven points clear at the top of La Liga.
The date was December 1, 2021; two days earlier Lionel Messi had been awarded his seventh Ballon d’Or, and the chants weren’t a celebration but an act of defiance. A protest against a result they deemed unjust. The France forward had just
