FOOTBALL: Why Rodri Was Awarded 2024 Ballon d’Or, Instead of Vinicius Jnr

By Ed Malik, A | ed@ddnewsonline.com | posted Ocotober 29, 2024

Spanish professional footballer and Manchester City’s midfielder Rodrigo Hernández Cascante, fondly called Rodri or Rodrigo by fans, has secured the prestigious Ballon d’Or, following a remarkable season filled with both individual and team successes across club and international competitions.

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The 28-year-old received the award at a ceremony in Paris organized by France Football in partnership with UEFA.

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Rodri’s achievements this season were exceptional, highlighted by winning a fourth consecutive Premier League title with Manchester City, where he played a pivotal role in City’s surge past Arsenal, securing the title with nine consecutive victories.

Additionally, he was a cornerstone of Spain’s Euro 2024 triumph, being named the player of the tournament and starting every match except for the final group stage game.

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Rodri’s unbeaten streak of 74 matches across all competitions—from March 2023 to May 2024—set a new world record, marking him as one of the most consistent players globally.

His only setback came in the FA Cup final, where Manchester United narrowly defeated City. His Ballon d’Or win makes him the first player from the English Premier League to earn the honor since Cristiano Ronaldo’s 2008 win with Manchester United.

Rodri becomes the second male player born in Spain to win the sport’s most prestigious individual prize, and the first since former Barcelona star Luis Suárez claimed it in 1960.

Real Madrid’s legendary striker Alfredo di Stefano won the award twice, in 1957 and 1959, though he was born in Argentina.

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The last four Ballons d’Or Féminin have been won by Spanish women (Alexia Putellas in 2021 and 2022 and Aitana Bonmatí in 2023 and 2024).

Rodri’s stiffest competition for the Ballon d’Or came from Madrid’s Vinícius Júnior, who refused to travel to Paris for the ceremony after discovering that he would not take home the trophy, according to ESPN sources.

Vinícius, 24, had been a leading contender to win the 2024 men’s prize after leading Madrid to a LaLiga and Champions League double last season, but sources told ESPN earlier on Monday that neither he nor his fellow Madrid nominees — eight in total across the various awards — would attend the event.

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Madrid had been honoured earlier in the ceremony as the men’s team of the year, though that award was skipped over quickly as there was no delegation present to accept it.

Rodri, who collected the prize on crutches, is likely to miss the rest of the 2024-25 campaign after sustaining an anterior cruciate ligament injury during City’s 2-2 draw with Arsenal on Sept. 22.

That knee injury came just days after he had told a news conference that players could go on strike in response to the ever-growing number of games in the football calendar.

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Earlier in Paris, Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal won the Kopa Trophy for best under-21 player over the previous season, while Aitana Bonmatí claimed her second consecutive Ballon d’Or Féminin.

Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappé shared the Gerd Müller trophy for most goals in the season, while Aston Villa and Argentina stopper Emiliano Martínez retained the prize for best goalkeeper in the world following his country’s Copa América title.