The information about the winner of the football‘s most prestigious individual award has leaked during the day and the rumors were true – Manchester City‘s midfielder and current European champion Rodri was declared the best player in 2024. As always, the journalists chose the winner and even thou it was expected that Real Madrid‘s forward Vinicius Jr. would claim the award, not he or his teammate Dani Carvajal got it. That enraged the Spanish giant who decided, in unprecedented move, to boycott the ceremony completely, which surely overshadowed the whole event. Acting like a spoiled brat, Real Madrid showed no class and in the end, failed to show respect to the winner, who is, buy the way, on their wish list for next season. If there is an sanity from Rodri, he will now reject the idea of signing for Real.RODRI, YOU WON IT! You’re our 2024 Ballon d’Or! #ballondor @ChampionsLeague pic.twitter.com/z4Xwgp8s9T— Ballon d’Or (@ballondor) October 28, 2024 The seven players from the Real Madrid contingent who were shortlisted for the individual award, including coach Carlo Ancelotti and players Kylian Mbappe, Antonio Rudiger, Fede Valverde and the retired Toni Kroos, did not show up to walk the red carpet before the ceremony began. The Spanish and European champions told AFP earlier Monday they questioned the methods behind the selection of the Ballon d’Or winner, saying that their defender Dani Carvajal, another of the 30 players nominated, had also been unfairly overlooked.”If the award criteria doesn’t give it to Vinicius as the winner, then those same criteria should point to Carvajal as the winner. As this was not the case, it is clear that Ballon d’Or-UEFA does not respect Real Madrid. And Real Madrid does not go where it is not respected” Real Madrid told AFP.🤩🇪🇸 El siglo XXI le debía un Balón de Oro al fútbol español🏆 ¡Felicidades, Rodri! #BallonDor pic.twitter.com/8lsJewZgx4— MARCA (@marca) October 28, 2024 As for the winner, Rodri said:”It’s an incredible evening for me. I have so many people to thank. France Football and UEFA for this award. Thank you to everyone who voted for me. It’s very special for me, my family and my country. I wanted to thank my partner Laura. Today is our anniversary. This journey wouldn’t have been the same without you, thank you so much. To my family, obviously, for all the values they’ve passed on to me. They’ve allowed me to become the man I’ve become. Thanks to Pablo, my agent. Who would have thought Pablo, that we’d end up here? Thanks to my friends for their support. I don’t want to forget my Manchester City teammates. Without them, this award wouldn’t have been possible. I’m at the best club in the world. Thanks also to the Spanish national team”.2024 Ballon d’Or winner: Rodri 🏆#UCL | #ballondor pic.twitter.com/zUPd4hGPp2— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) October 28, 2024 As a reminder, the Ballon d’Or winner is chosen by 100 journalists from the 100 highest-ranked FIFA member countries. Each journalist selects their top five players from a list of 30 nominees, with each ranking carrying a different point value. The top-ranked player on each list receives six points, the second gets four, the third three, the fourth two, and the fifth one point. Naturally, the player with the most points is crowned the best in the world. This time, that privilege went to Rodri, though there’s no doubt that many thrilling races lie ahead in the coming years—especially after today’s developments and Real Madrid’s response.A scandal – Real to boycott Ballon d’Or over Vinicius?Aitana Bonmati, the Barça and Spanish national team player was named best player for the second year in a row. She received her trophy from famous female actor and Academy Award winner Natalie Portman. The Ballon d’Or ceremony was held at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, France. The French venue has hosted the award since the 2019 edition of the ceremony and the hosts were African legend Didier Drogba and Sandy Heribert. There were eight other awards in total apart from the best footballer. The Kopa Trophy is given to the best player under the age of 21 and this season it was Lamine Yamal. Surely a logical decision as the teenager took the world by storm this season. A star already in Barcelona, he also participated in EURO 2024 and was voted the best young player there as well. At the age of just 17, he became the youngest Kopa Trophy winner ever.🌟#UCL | #ballondor pic.twitter.com/P6EeGEwLzX— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) October 28, 2024 The winner of the Yashin Trophy was again Aston Villa‘s Emiliano Martinez, who won it in 2023 as well, while both Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe got the Gerd Muller Trophy as the top scorers from last season. The Socrates Award acknowledges the player who has done the most humanitarian work and this year it went to Spanish female footballer Jennifer Hermoso. There were also awards for the best men’s and women’s coaches from the previous season (Carlo Ancelotti and Emma Hayes) as well Men’s and Women’s Club of the Year (Real Madrid and Barcelona).EMILIANO MARTINEZ IS THE 2024 YACHINE TROPHY WINNER! Argentina goalkeeper extends his reign! #TrophéeYachine #ballondor @AVFCOfficial @championsleague pic.twitter.com/lpykGx38zV— Ballon d’Or (@ballondor) October 28, 2024 The news that Vinicius Junior and the rest of Real Madrid’s representatives will boycott the Ballon d’Or ceremony in Paris has caused a major stir. However, the Brazilian and his teammates won’t be the only notable absences from Rodri’s crowning moment. Erling Haaland, whose goals for Manchester City played a significant role in Rodri being named the world’s best footballer last season, was also absent from the audience. The Norwegian had different plans for the evening, choosing to travel to Sweden instead of France to attend the derby between Malmö and Gothenburg as he showed on his Instagram account.2024 Men’s Ballon d’Or Rankings1. Rodri (Manchester City)2. Vinicius Jr (Real Madrid)3. Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid)4. Daniel Carvajal (Real Madrid)5. Erling Haaland (Manchester City)6. Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid)7. Lautaro Martínez (Inter Milan)8. Lamine Yamal (FC Barcelona)9. Toni Kroos (Real Madrid)10. Harry Kane (Bayern Munich)##NAJAVA_MECA_8453564##
