Real Madrid star slams Ballon d’Or shortlist after brutal exclusion

Real Madrid star Rodrygo has voiced out his displeasure over the 2024 Ballon d’Or shortlist.

The shortlist for the 2024 award was unveiled on Wednesday evening during a glitzy ceremony. Ademola Lookman, Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe and Harry Kane are some of the biggest names in the running.

Real Madrid were also represented by Jude Bellingham, Antonio Rudiger, Dani Carvajal, Federico Valverde, Vinicius Jr and even the retired Toni Kroos. However, Rodrygo’s name was missing.

Brazilian wideman Rodrygo enjoyed a standout season last term, however, this was not enough to have him on the list. The 23-year-old scored 17 goals and notched nine assists as Real Madrid won La Liga, the Champions League and the Spanish SuperCup.

And Rodrygo pointed to that fact in a particularly pointed message on Instagram.

Taking to his Instagram story, he shared a number of images of him celebrating with the various trophies he had won throughout the season, with others depicting him in action for Real Madrid. He had also posted a laughing crying emoji.

Rodrygo will be eager to see one of his club teammates end up as the winner.

Rodrygo previously claimed that his Los Blancos teammate Vinicius Jr is the favourite to claim the gong – but still has ambitions of securing it for himself one day.

Speaking to Globo Esporte earlier this year, he said: “We know that Vini is the main candidate to win it [Ballon d’Or] and I support this decision because he is my teammate.” He added: “It [Ballon d’Or] is not something that’s my priority, but it’s something every player dreams of.”

Rodrygo has started the season in positive form. He scored for Real Madrid on the opening day of the campaign in a 1-1 draw with Mallorca, while he also has an assist to his name.