Manchester City midfielder Rodri has responded to Cristiano Ronaldo’s comments that his Ballon d’Or win was ‘unfair’.
Rodri, 28, received the prestigious award at a ceremony at the Theater du Châtelet in Paris, France on October 28, 2024.
Despite not playing since suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury in a 2-2 draw against Arsenal in September, the midfielder is considered the best ‘number six’ in world football after winning the 2023/24 Premier League with City and Euro 2023 . 2024 with Spain.
However, in the lead-up to the ceremony, Real Madrid forward Vinny Júnior was many people’s favorite to win the award, beating out Rodri.
Vinny, 24, was also in great form in the 2023/24 season and helped Madrid achieve a historic double, with Carlo Ancelotti’s side winning the Champions League as well as La Liga.
When Madrid received news of Rodri’s win, they boycotted the ceremony in the French capital, despite being crowned Men’s Club of the Year.
And last week, Madrid’s record goalscorer (451) Cristiano Ronaldo had his say on the matter.
Rodri is the most recent Ballon d’Or winner (Credit: Getty)
,[Jude] Bellingham, Lamin Yamal, Vinicius Junior, this young generation does fantastic work, and in my opinion, they deserve to win the Ballon d’Or,” Ronaldo said during an appearance at the Globe Soccer Awards in Dubai, United Arab Emirates last Friday. Said.
“In my opinion, it was not appropriate. I will say this here in front of everyone. He gave it to Rodri. He also deserved it.
“But I think they should have given it to Vinicius Junior because he won the Champions League and scored the goal in the final. Other issues are not important for me.”
Now, Rodri has issued a response to the five-time Ballon d’Or winner’s comments.
The City midfielder gave his views to the Spanish newspaper As,
“Well, it was really a surprise, because he knows better than anyone how this award works and, above all, how the winner is chosen,” explained Rodri.
“This year, the journalists who voted have decided that I should win it.
“Presumably, these were the same journalists who, at some point, voted to win it, and I think he would have agreed then.”