Not a single player, coach or official from Real Madrid attended the Ballon d'Or ceremony after learning that star player Vinicius Junior wouldn't be winning the award
Rodri has aimed a thinly-veiled dig towards Real Madrid over their controversial boycott of the Ballon d'Or ceremony.
But it was Rodri, who helped City lift a fourth successive Premier League title and won Euro 2024 with Spain, who claimed the Ballon d'Or, becoming only the second non-attacker to win the award since 2007. Real were so furious with the vote that none of their players, many of whom were nominated such as Jude Bellingham and Dani Carvajal, attended the ceremony in Paris.
"When your value is recognised at a very high level, final winner or not, it's good to come," the City midfielder told France Football, the magazine which organises the Ballon d'Or. "Besides there is also the collective aspect that's important. For example, last year Erling was in a better position than me to win. I wanted to come to support him in a special moment.
Ancelotti says that the events surrounding the Ballon d'Or are 'behind' Real, insisting on Monday that the club's focus was on the floods in Spain which killed more than 200 people and called off their La Liga fixture away to Valencia.
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