Rodri, the Manchester City midfielder, has shared his candid opinion about Ballon d’Or contender Vinicius Junior, though his remarks have upset Neymar.
Rodri, 28, was presented with the prestigious award on Monday, October 28, at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris.
This came after Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr., 24, had also been considered a strong contender for the honor, widely seen as recognizing the world’s top footballer. ..Continue Reading
Despite this, the Spanish club did not send a delegation to Paris for the ceremony, even though Kylian Mbappe, the striker for Paris Saint-Germain, shared the Gerd Muller Trophy with Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane.
Real Madrid was also named ‘Club of the Year,’ but this recognition didn’t persuade them to attend the glittering event.
Quickly after Rodri’s name was announced, Vini tweeted: “I’ll do it 10 times if I have to. They’re not ready.”
Rodri has been out of action since sustaining a knee ligament injury in the draw against Arsenal in the Premier League on September 22.
Now, the Spain international has finally spoken out about the Ballon d’Or debacle.
“I think he’s a smart guy and with time you’ll realize that the more you pay attention on the field, the better he [Vini Jr] will be,” Rodri told Spanish TV programme El Largeuro.
“Athletes are not just what you represent on the field, but also off it.”
But it was Vini Jr’s Brazil teammate Neymar who could not help but give his thoughts on Rodri’s words with a dig in the comment section of Futeousadia’s Instagram post.
The Al Hilal man commented: “Virou falador agora (he becomes a talker now – in English).”
Neymar previously referred to the Real Madrid star as a “great idol” and “hero” for the people of Brazil even explaining how he didn’t “think there’s anyone but him [Vini Jr] to win it [Ballon d’Or]” when speaking to SNTV [Via TNT Sports] in October.
The former Barcelona man has also never won the Ballon d’Or despite being one of the best players over the last 15 years.
In Neymar’s case, he was up against the unstoppable Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, with this year’s nominee list being the only one to not feature one of the pairing since 2003.
