Manchester City’s Rodri has said he can’t respect Real Madrid’s decision to boycott the Ballon d’Or ceremony in October after he received the award over Vinícius Júnior.
The midfielder was awarded with the individual prize after a stellar season that saw him pick up the Premier League trophy with City and the European Championship with Spain.
Rodri’s stiffest competition was Vinícius, who refused to travel to Paris for the ceremony after learning he would not be taking home the award along with the rest of the Madrid squad and the club’s executives.
“Well, it’s a decision of individuals or clubs in general to decide what to do. I cannot respect the decision, I always said I wouldn’t do it in the same way,” Rodri said on “The Rest is Football” podcast.
“I remember last year that maybe Erling [Haaland] was close to winning it I wanted to be there with him to support with all the club and even though Leo [Lionel Messi] won it, we were there clapping him because Ballon d’Or is a recognition not for a player, it’s for a year, for a level of a guy for a whole year.”
Vinícius had been a top contender to win the men’s prize after helping Madrid to a LaLiga and Champions League double last season, but neither he nor his fellow Madrid nominees — eight in total across the various awards — attended the event.
Madrid were honoured as the men’s team of the year and Carlo Ancelotti received the coach of the year award at the ceremony, though as no representatives of the club were present, no-one was on hand to accept the silverware.
“In sport and in life, it’s important to win. But I think even more how to lose and I say always the same, it was my moment, I didn’t want to speak about others,” Rodri added.
“They didn’t want to be there — I want to be with my club, with my family, the people that were there and clapped me and that was a fantastic moment.”
Prior to the ceremony, Rodri suffered an ACL injury during a Premier League clash with Arsenal that has seen the midfielder ruled out for the foreseeable future.
“My target is to come back this season,” he said. “I think in terms of my mentality it’s going to be positive for me to not give up the season and throw it. I don’t want to run, you know, I don’t want to make mistakes.
“But yeah, that’s my mentality. I don’t know when … In my target is six, seven months, but the physios, they will dictate.”