Rodri beats Vinicius to Ballon d’Or as Real Madrid snub ceremony

Manchester City’s Rodri has won the Ballon d’Or after a sensational year for club and country, beating Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior to the accolade.

Rodri becomes thefirst Spaniardto win the award since Barcelona’s Luis Suarez back in 1960.

The 28-year-old was an integral part of Manchester City’s unprecedentedfourth consecutive Premier League title triumph, with Pep Guardiola’s sidenot tastingdefeat in the 34 league games thatRodri featured in, winning 27 and drawing seven.

He then kept up his winning habit over the summer as he helpedSpain to glory at Euro 2024, and was namedthePlayer of the Tournament, despite being forced off due to injury in the final.

Rodri is expected to miss the remainder of the season as he was forced to undergo anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) surgery, and was helped up on stage by Didier Drogba to claim the accolade, with the midfielder having arrived atthe ceremony in Parison crutches.

The Man City starisalsothe first player to win the Ballon d’Or while playing for an English club since Cristiano Ronaldoin 2008.

Vinicius, who was tipped to win the awardafter netting 24 goals and adding11 assists in all competitions last term, finished second, with Madrid team-mate Jude Bellingham making up the top three.

Madrid do have a fair amount to celebrate, though.

Carlo Ancelotti was named the winner of the Men’s Johan Cruyff Trophy for the best coach, having guidedLos Blancos to last season’s LaLiga title as well as the club’s 15th Champions League triumph.

And Madrid were also picked out as the Men’s Club of the Year.

However, there was no one present in Paris to claim the award, with Madrid representatives reportedly boycotting the event after Vinicius’ snub for the Ballon d’Or.

Rodri’s international colleague, Lamine Yamal, scoopedthe first award of the ceremony, winning the Kopa Trophy, which is awarded to the best player under the age of 21.

Yamal is the first player aged under 18 to win the award. He scored seven goals and added nine assists in his debut season with Barcelona, and has continued his rapid rise after starring in La Roja’s European Championship success.

Yamal already has 11 goal involvements (five goals, six assists) in LaLiga this term, a total only bettered by Barcelona team-matesRaphinha (12) and Robert Lewandowski (16).

TheGerd Muller Trophy was shared betweenHarry Kane and Kylian Mbappe.

The award, given to football’s most prolific forward, was sharedfor the first time, with both Kane and Mbappe netting52 goals in all competitions across 2023-24.

Kane enjoyed a fine debut year with Bayern Munich,though his wait for a first major trophy of his career continued, while Mbappe’s final campaign with Paris Saint-Germain ended with two honours.

Emiliano Martinez picked up theYashin Trophy for a second year running after his performances for Aston Villa and Argentina.

In the Premier League, Martinez kept nine clean sheets, helping Villa clinchqualification for the Champions Leaguefor the first time since the1982-83 season.

Healso played a key role in Argentina winning their 15th Copa America title with five shutoutsin six games.