Rodri has offered a withering assessment of Real Madrid for their decision to boycott the Ballon d’Or ceremony en masse, saying he “cannot respect” the Spanish giants for staying away from Paris on one of the best nights of his career.
The Manchester City midfielder was something of a surprise winner of football’s biggest individual prize, one that many close to Madrid believed was destined for favorite Vinicius Junior. When the news of Rodri’s imminent victory broke hours before the ceremony, Madrid chose to withdraw its entire delegation from the event, leaving it without collecting the award for men’s club of the year.
Rodri largely refrained from commenting on Madrid’s absence in his acceptance speech, but speaking on “The Rest is Football” podcast, he did not hold back in his criticism of the Spanish giants. Instead, he suggested Madrid could have accepted their disappointment with the grace he believes City had in 2023 when Erling Haaland missed out to Lionel Messi.
“It’s a decision for individuals or clubs in general to decide what to do,” he said. “I can’t respect the decision, I always said I wouldn’t do it the same way. I remember last year that maybe Erling was close to winning it, I wanted to be there with him to support the whole club and even though Leo won it, we were there applauding [for] Because the Ballon d’Or is a recognition not for a player, it is for a year, for the level of a boy for an entire year.
“In sports and in life it is important to win. But I think even more about losing, and I always say the same thing, it was my time, I didn’t want to talk about others. They didn’t want to be there — I want to be with my club, with my family, the people who were there and applauded [for] me and that was a fantastic moment.”
Repeating the triumph will be impossible for the 28-year-old this season after a significant knee injury suffered in September. His coach, Pep Guardiola, ruled him out for the remainder of the campaign after confirming a torn anterior cruciate ligament, but Rodri is not so sure. “My goal is to come back this season,” he said.
“I think in terms of my mentality, it will be positive for me to not give up on the season and throw it away. I don’t want to run, you know, I don’t want to make mistakes. But yeah, that’s it.” “My mentality. I don’t know when. My goal is six, seven months, but the physiotherapists will dictate.”
