Manchester City and Spain midfielder Rodri was awarded the men’s Ballon d’Or on Monday after securing a fourth consecutive Premier League title, the UEFA Super Cup, the FIFA Club World Cup and winning Euro 2024. However, Real Madrid boycotted the ceremony in protest.
The decision to award the prize for the world’s best player to the deep-lying midfielder was unexpected, with Real Madrid’s Liga and Champions League double-winner Vinicius Junior widely regarded as the pre-ceremony favourite.
Hours before the festivities in Paris, the Spanish club announced that its delegation would not attend the ceremony at the Châtelet Theatre, citing perceived disrespect towards Vinicius.
Rodri, 28, played a pivotal role as City fended off Arsenal to clinch the Premier League title last season. He was also named Player of the Tournament at Euro 2024, where Spain emerged victorious in Germany.
Despite French organisers insisting that the identity of the winner was closely guarded, news appeared to have leaked, prompting Madrid to announce its boycott hours before the event.
Drama unfolded hours before the ceremony as Spanish and European champions Real Madrid declared that, if Vinicius was not the winner, his teammate Dani Carvajal should receive the honour.
Like Vinicius, Carvajal 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 told AFP. “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 chosen from a shortlist by an international jury of 100 specialist journalists. Its organisers, the Amaury group—which owns L’Équipe and France Football—denied any leak of the successor to last year’s winner Lionel Messi and maintained that “no player or club” was informed in advance.
Also, Barcelona’s 16-year-old sensation, Lamine Yamal, claimed the Kopa Trophy, awarded to the world’s top Under-21 player.
His remarkable season, punctuated by breakthrough performances for both club and Spain, positioned him as the standout choice for the award.
Other award winners were:
Lamine Yamal- Young Player of the Year
Miliano Martinez- Best Goalkeeper of the Year
Carlo Ancelotti- Best Coach of the Year (Men)
Emma Hayes- Best Coach of the Year (Women)
Harry Kane/ Kylian Mbappe – Share Gerd Muller award
Real Madrid and Barcelona were named men’s and women’s clubs of the year, respectively.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s Ademola Lookman finished in 14th position.
