Rodri, a midfielder for Manchester City and Spain, defeated Jude Bellingham of Real Madrid and Vinicius Jr. of Brazil to win the Ballon d’Or award for the finest player in the world. Rodri has won the coveted honor for the first time.
Barcelona and Spanish national team midfielder Aitana Bonmati won the women’s Ballon d’Or for the second year in a row. Last season, Rodri was a key player in Manchester City‘s triumph, helping them win the Premier League for a historic fourth consecutive year. He was also named the European Championship’s best player following Spain’s fourth-place victory.
At the age of 28, Rodri became the first defensive midfielder to win the Ballon d’Or since Lothar Matthaus in 1990. He is also the third Spaniard to receive this honor, following Alfredo Di Stefano and Luis Suarez, who both did it in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
It had been nearly 60 years since a Spaniard had won the trophy, despite the fact that Spanish league players have always dominated the competition. This long-standing trend is broken by Rodri’s accomplishment, which is particularly noteworthy given Spain’s “golden generation,” which has won two European Championships and the World Cup.
Manchester City is now the dominant force in England thanks to Rodri’s unique skill set, which also helped Spain make a comeback in European football. He dedicated the medal not only to himself but also to Spanish football and the many players who deserved it but had not won, mentioning legends like Iniesta, Xavi, and Casillas in his acceptance speech.
“Today many friends have reached out to me and have told me that football has won, for giving exposure to so many midfielders who have a job in the shadows and today it is coming to light,” he said, underscoring the significance of midfielders receiving recognized. In his reflections on his path, Rodri portrayed himself as a regular guy with high morals who achieved remarkable success in football.
The fact that Rodri is only the third player to win the award who is not Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo since 2008 is a significant change. For the first time since 2003, neither of the two football legends made the final 30-man nominee list this year.
Five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo was noticeably missing from the nominations after relocating to Saudi Arabia, and Messi, who won his eighth award in 2023 despite Argentina’s Copa America triumph, was left off. In the past 18 months, Rodri has only suffered one defeat, that coming in the FA Cup final when Manchester City shockingly fell to Manchester United.
Rodri’s Spanish teammate Lamine Yamal was honored with the Kopa Trophy for best Under-21 player for his contribution to Spain’s perfect record at Euro 2024. The fact that Bonmati received the women’s prize is a testament to her significant work, even if Jennifer Hermoso received the Socrates prize for her advocacy of women’s rights in football.
Real Madrid chose not to attend the ceremony because they thought Vinicius would not win the men’s trophy; as a result, the team was not represented. Carlo Ancelotti was selected as the men’s coach of the year, and Barcelona received the title of best women’s club following a successful season in both domestic and European competitions.
