Manchester City midfielder Rodri won the men’s Ballon d’Or and Barcelona playmaker Aitana Bonmati took the women’s award as a “disrespected” Real Madrid boycotted the prestigious ceremony in Paris despite being named men’s club of the year.
Rodri beat the Real Madrid trio of Vinicius Junior, Dani Carvajal and Jude Bellingham to the top honour, and that verdict from the 100-strong panel of voters led the delegation from the Spanish giants to stay at home.
Responding to the announcement, Vinicius posted on X, formerly known as Twitter: “I’ll do it 10 times if I have to. They’re not ready.”
Rodri, who picked up an ACL injury in September against Arsenal, enjoyed the standout season of his career in 2023-24, winning a fourth consecutive Premier League title and lifting the Euro 2024 trophy with Spain.
The 28-year-old won the Best Player award from the tournament in Germany last summer despite being forced off at half-time in the final against England.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti won the Johan Cruyff Trophy as men’s coach of the year while former Chelsea coach Emma Hayes collected the women’s version having led the USA to Olympic gold in the summer.
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