The rumor relayed for 24 hours was therefore true, it was Rodri, the Spanish international from Manchester City who was named Ballon d’Or 2024 this Monday evening at the Théâtre du Chatelet. The absence of Vinicius and Real Madrid is obviously making noise. On the French side, Kylian Mbappé ranks sixth.
There were many stars seated in the chairs of the Châtelet, but it was especially the absent ones who stood out. Because even if the organizers trumpeted that secrecy was absolute concerning the winner of the Ballon d’Or, since Sunday evening, the rumor was growing that it was not Vinicius who would be the 2024 winner, but Rodri. And this while the Brazilian had upset on Saturday evening during the Clasico by telling a Barça player that he would be in Paris on Monday to win the Ballon d’Or.
Having also heard these rumors in the corridors, Florentino Perez quickly had confirmation that Vinicius Jr would not be the winner, and the president of Real Madrid therefore canceled the plane which was to take the Madrid delegation to Paris, preferring not to witness the coronation of the Manchester City player as his team was voted team of the year and Carlo Ancelotti was named best coach of the year.
Enough to cause an earthquake in Spain, especially in Madrid where we cannot digest this affront to the Real Madrid star. However, despite this change of mood, this did not prevent the ceremony from taking place and even less Rodri from becoming the first Spanish footballer to win the Ballon d’Or in 64 years. In 1960, Luis Suarez, a Spanish midfielder who died last year, who had beaten Puskas, Seeler and Di Stefano while playing for Barça.
Real Madrid cries scandal
Seeing Rodri win the 2024 Ballon d’Or is not a scandal either, contrary to what Real Madrid says, because at 28 years old, the midfielder is coming off a season in which he won the league title of England with Manchester City and especially the Euro with the Spain team of which he was captain. Obviously, Vinicius won the Champions League and La Liga with Real Madrid, but he didn’t really shine with the Brazilian team. And Vinicius’ attitude is sometimes annoying, whereas Rodri is more of the discreet type. It was George Weah, himself a Ballon d’Or winner in 1995 and former president of the Republic of Liberia, who presented the Ballon d’Or to the Man City and Spain player.
When choosing the winner of the 2024 Ballon d’Or, the jury of journalists therefore favored the Manchester City player over the Real Madrid striker, with Jude Bellingham ranking in third place. In Spain, the media close to the Merengue are already screaming about the plot led by UEFA, co-organizer of the Ballon d’Or, which would like to take revenge on Florentino Perez, who is still trying to organize the Super League.
Ballon d’Or 2024 rankings
1. Rodri (Man City and Spain)
2. Vinicius Jr (Real Madrid and Bray)
3. Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid and The)
4. Dani Carvajal (Real Madrid et Esp)
5. Haaland (Man City and Norway)
6. Kylian Mbappé (PSG and Fra)
7. Lautaro Martinez (Inter and Arg)
8. Lamine Yamal (Barça and Esp)
9. Toni Kroos (Real Madrid and All)
10. Harry Kane (Tottenham and The)
