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Manchester City’s Rodri is the 2024 Men’s Ballon d’Or award winner after a phenomenal season.
The midfielder won trophies for both his club and his country this year. He and Manchester City won their fourth-straight Premier League in May before Rodri helped lead Spain to victory at Euro 2024.
While it was a special night for Rodri, it was a frustrating one for Real Madrid’s Vinícius Júnior, who was arguably Rodri’s biggest challenger for the coveted award. After the snub, fans and teammates of Vinícius voiced their support for the star.
Éder Militão @edermilitao
Você é o melhor e ninguém pode tirar isso de você! É o melhor! 🤍🥇 <a href=”https://twitter.com/vinijr?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@vinijr</a> <br><br>You are the best and no one can take that away from you! The Best! 🤍🥇 <a href=”https://t.co/hOjpxU9NRR”>pic.twitter.com/hOjpxU9NRR</a>
Cold Palmer🏴 @ColePalmer_0
Rodri is good midfielder but everyone knows <a href=”https://twitter.com/vinijr?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@vinijr</a> is the best player in the world now. <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/BallonDor?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#BallonDor</a> <a href=”https://t.co/CakrFiPfS0″>pic.twitter.com/CakrFiPfS0</a>
As Rodri took home the Ballon d’Or, Vinícius’ Madrid was honored as the team of the year as it won both LaLiga and Champions League last season. Across his time with Madrid and Spain, Vinícius won 74 games in a row from March 2023 to May 2024.
His success with Madrid and Spain led many to believe Vinícius would hear his name called on Monday, but instead, Rodri was awarded his first Ballon d’Or.
According to ESPN, Vinícius refused to travel to Paris after learning he wouldn’t take home the award. Eight of his teammates who were nominated for other awards followed him in not attending.
While some fans called his win over Vinícius a snub, Rodri relished taking home one of the most prestigious awards in the game.
“A very special day, for me, my family and my country,” Rodri said. “I understand that because I have no social media, people don’t know me much. I am just a normal guy. I enjoy the sport, I enjoy my profession. And I try to be a good person. I am a very calm person.”
Though he was recognized for his success last season on Monday, Rodri won’t get to enjoy the same success this year as he’s expected to miss the entire campaign due to surgery on his anterior cruciate ligament.