Man City’s Rodri Claims Men’s Ballon d’Or as Real Madrid Boycotts Ceremony

Manchester City and Spain midfielder Rodri was awarded the men’s Ballon d’Or on Monday, following his fourth consecutive Premier League title and victory at Euro 2024.

However, Real Madrid chose to boycott the ceremony in protest.

The decision to recognize Rodri as the world’s best player was surprising, especially since Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior, who won both the Liga and Champions League, was considered the pre-ceremony favorite.

Hours before the event in Paris, Real Madrid announced that their delegation would not attend the ceremony at the Châtelet Theatre, citing perceived disrespect towards Vinicius.

Rodri, 28, played a crucial role in helping City secure the Premier League title last season, and he was also named Player of the Tournament at Euro 2024, where Spain triumphed in Germany.

Despite French organizers insisting that the identity of the winner was closely guarded, news seems to have leaked, leading Madrid to announce its boycott just hours before the event.

Earlier, Aitana Bonmati, the Barcelona and Spain star, claimed her second consecutive women’s Ballon d’Or after guiding her club to a historic continental quadruple and winning the Nations League with Spain.

Drama unfolded hours before the ceremony when Spanish and European champions Real Madrid announced that if Vinicius did not win, his teammate Dani Carvajal should receive the honor instead.

Like Vinicius, Carvajal also scored in Madrid’s 2-0 victory over Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League final at Wembley.

“If the award criteria don’t favour Vinicius, then they should favour Carvajal,” Real Madrid said. “Since that is not the case, it’s clear the Ballon d’Or-UEFA does not respect Real Madrid. And Real Madrid will not attend an event where it is not respected.”

Real Madrid’s nominees included Kylian Mbappe, Antonio Rudiger, Fede Valverde, and Jude Bellingham.

The Ballon d’Or winner is selected from a shortlist by an international jury of 100 specialized journalists. The organizers, the Amaury group—which owns L’Équipe and France Football—denied any leak regarding the successor to last year’s winner, Lionel Messi, and asserted that “no player or club” was informed in advance.

City manager Pep Guardiola has praised Rodri, calling him “the best in his position.”

“He can do everything: the quality, he reads the game, his mentality, he’s always ready,” Guardiola said. “He’s excellent in so many aspects… his presence, his physicality, he’s a complete player.”