The drama surrounding Manchester City’s midfielder, Rodri, 2024 Ballon d’Or win has continued into 2025 after recent comment by Cristiano Ronaldo.
Rodri, 28, received the coveted award in a ceremony at Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, France, on October 28, 2024. However, the award ceremony was shunned by Real Madrid after it was discovered Vinicius Jr will not be winning.
Vini, 24, had also been in fine form in the 2023/24 season as he helped secure Madrid a historic double, with Carlo Ancelotti’s side winning the Champions League as well as La Liga.
Cristiano Ronaldo (R) of Al-Nassr poses with his award during the Globe Soccer Dubai Awards 2024 (Photo by Waleed Zein/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Sharing his thought on the award last week, Cristiano Ronaldo, Madrid’s record goalscorer (451), had his say 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.”
Rodri has now issued a response to the five-time Ballon d’Or winner’s comments. The City midfielder 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.”
Rodri has not played since sustaining an anterior cruciate ligament injury in the 2-2 draw against Arsenal in September.
The midfielder is expected to make his return in 2025 as he hopes to continue his good form for club and country.
