Manchester City midfielder Rodri has appeared to respond to Cristiano Ronaldo’s remarks, calling his Ballon d’Or win ‘unfair’.
Rodri, 28, received the prestigious award at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, France, on October 28, 2024.
Even though he hasn’t played since suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury in a 2-2 draw against Arsenal in September, he’s widely considered the best ‘number six’ in world football, having won the 2023/24 Premier League with City and Euro 2024 with Spain. ..Continue Reading
However, Real Madrid forward Vini Jr was the favorite for many to win the prize leading up to the ceremony.
Vini, 24, had an outstanding 2023/24 season, helping Madrid secure a historic double, winning the Champions League and La Liga under Carlo Ancelotti.
Upon learning of Rodri’s win, Real Madrid boycotted the ceremony in Paris despite being named Men’s Club of The Year.
Last week, Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid’s record goalscorer (451), shared his views on the matter.
“[Jude] Bellingham, Lamine Yamal, Vinicius Junior, this younger generation do a fantastic job, and in my opinion, they deserve to win the Ballon d’Or,” said Ronaldo when in attendance at the Globe Soccer Awards in Dubai, UAE, last Friday.
“It wasn’t fair, in my opinion. I’ll say that here in front of everybody. They gave it to Rodri. He deserved it, too.
“But I think they should have given it to Vinicius Jr because he won the Champions League and scored a goal in the final. The other issues for me are not important.”
Now, Rodri has issued a response to the five-time Ballon d’Or winner’s comments. The Man City star gave his thoughts to Spanish newspaper AS.
“Well, it was a surprise, really, because he knows better than anyone how this award works and, above all, how the winner is chosen,” Rodri explained.
“This year, the journalists who vote have decided that I should win it.
“Probably, these same journalists were the ones who, at some point, voted for him to win it, and I imagine that then he would have agreed.”
