There we have it. After a surprisingly controversial day, Rodri has been named in 2024 Ballon d’Or winner
The Manchester City midfielder claimed the award for the first time and became the first Premier League player to win the Ballon d’Or since Cristiano Ronaldo in 2008. After an outstanding 2023/24 campaign in which he won the Premier League and the Euros 2024, the 28-year-old beat Real Madrid superstar Vinicius Junior to the award.
However, the night was not without drama. The reports had surfaced earlier on Monday who claimed that Madrid’s Vinicius and the rest of the club’s representatives would not attend the ceremony after suspecting that Rodri would be crowned champion. These reports turned out to be true.
Unsurprisingly, the news ruffled some feathers online.
Madrid’s intelligence was accurate as Rodri became the first midfielder to win the award since Luka Modric in 2018. As much as it was a significant outrage from certain corners, there were many who felt that Rodri was a worthy winner.
The Man City ace enjoyed a truly remarkable 2023/24 campaign and few can dispute that the Spaniard is the best midfielder in the world.
Of course, the Ballon d’Or wasn’t the only award handed out at the ceremony in Paris.
The Women’s Ballon d’Or was awarded to Aitana Bonmati for the second consecutive year after his sensational season with Barcelona. The midfielder was the heavy favorite for the award and equaled teammate Alexia Putellas’ record of two wins.
The Blaugrana men’s team had another winner in the form of Lamine Yamal he got the Kopa Trophy to the best young player, while Emiliano Martínez collected the Yashin trophy as the first goalkeeper for the second year in a row.
And there was time for Harry Kane to take an honor of his own, winning the Gerd Muller Trophy with more goals scored last season. Kylian Mbappe produced the same number and also won, but the Frenchman was under strict orders from his club not to attend the ceremony.