• Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati Secures Back-to-Back Women’s Ballon d’Or Awards
In a surprising outcome, Manchester City and Spain midfielder Rodri was awarded the men’s Ballon d’Or on Monday, marking a pinnacle year with his fourth consecutive Premier League title and Euro 2024 victory.
The decision to award the prestigious accolade to Rodri, a deep-lying midfielder known for his metronomic passing and strategic play, came despite speculation that Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior was the frontrunner.
Hours before the Paris ceremony, Real Madrid announced its delegation would not attend the event at the Chatelet Theatre, viewing the exclusion of Vinicius as disrespectful.
“If the award criteria doesn’t give it to Vinicius as the winner, then those same criteria should point to Carvajal as the winner,” Real Madrid conveyed through AFP.
The Spanish and European champions argued that the selection process disregarded the accomplishments of their players, including Dani Carvajal, who scored a decisive goal in Real’s Champions League final against Borussia Dortmund.
Rodri’s influence has been pivotal, with City manager Pep Guardiola praising him as “the best in his position,” citing Rodri’s exceptional reading of the game, physicality, and mentality. “He is so good at many things…
The presence, the physicality, he is complete,” Guardiola stated. Rodri’s contributions included his critical goal in City’s Champions League final, securing the title for the first time in the club’s history.
The midfielder’s significance extends to the Spanish national team, where he was named player of the tournament at Euro 2024 after helping Spain to an unexpected triumph in Germany.
Spain’s coach Luis de la Fuente lauded him as a “perfect computer” who controls every aspect of the game “in a magisterial way,” noting that Rodri’s leadership guided Spain into the tournament’s quarter-finals.
Barcelona star Aitana Bonmati celebrated her second consecutive women’s Ballon d’Or, capping off a remarkable season marked by a continental quadruple with her club and a Nations League victory with Spain.
Real Madrid’s protest cast a shadow over the event, with their statement emphasizing the perceived lack of respect from Ballon d’Or organizers, the Amaury group, who responded that the winner’s identity was a “closely-guarded secret.” They insisted no player or club knew the result in advance.
