Manchester City and Spain midfielder Rodri, on Monday, was awarded the Ballon d'Or after an impressive season where he picked up silverware for both club and country. The 28-year-old played an inspiring role in Manchester City winning a fourth consecutive Premier League title last season and was named Player of the Tournament at Euro 2024 as Spain emerged triumphant in Germany.

Rodri received the award at a ceremony in Paris, which was organised by the French magazine France Football in collaboration with UEFA. He, hence, became the first Premier League player to be crowned since Cristiano Ronaldo won in 2008 during his maiden stint with Manchester United. He also became the second male player from Spain to lift the award and first since former Barcelona star Luis Suárez won it in 1960.

"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."

The Spaniard, who received the award in crutches, is likely to miss the remainder of the 2024/25 season after incurring an anterior cruciate ligament injury during Manchester City's 2-2 draw against Arsenal last month.

Barcelona and Spain star Aitana Bonmati earlier won her second successive women's Ballon d'Or, after leading her club to a historic continental quadruple of titles and claiming the Nations League with her country.

- Real Madrid no-show -

The Ballon d'Or decision, however, came as a surprise with Real Madrid's Liga and Champions League double winner Vinicius Junior widely seen as the favourite. The Brazilian, who refused to travel to Paris for the ceremony after getting to know that he did not win the award, finished second in the voting, while fellow Madrid star Jude Bellingham took the third spot.

The drama began hours before the ceremony when Madrid said that if Vinicius was snubbed for the prestigious trophy then his teammate Dani Carvajal should be seen as the worthy backup.

Like the Brazilian, Carvajal scored in the 2-0 victory against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League final at Wembley.

Vinicius scored 24 goals and made 11 assists in 39 matches across all competitions for Madrid as he led the club to three titles last season.

"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 told AFP.

"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."

Madrid, who had eight nominees across all the awards, including new recruit Kylian Mbappe, boycotted the event. However, the Spanish giants were honoured with the men's team of the year, while Carlo Ancelotti received the coach of the year award

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