Spaniards Rodri And Bonmati Win 2024 Ballon d’Or As Real Madrid Shun Event
By: Gyang Dakwo
In a surprise twist of events, Manchester City midfielder Rodri has ended up winning the Ballon d’Or, ahead of widely touted Vinicius jnr.
This comes as a surprise to many who felt Vinicius deserved to win after the Brazilian won the La Liga, UEFA Champions League, and Spanish Super Cup titles while being named the Player of the Tournament in the Champions League.
However, Rodri, who won the Premier League with Manchester City and the UEFA Euro 2024 with the Spanish national team – where he was named the Player of the Tournament, is understood to have been voted as the Ballon d’Or winner for 2024.
The 28-year-old Madrid native is the first defensive midfielder to win the Ballon d’Or since Lothar Matthaus in 1990 and the third Spaniard to claim the prize after Alfredo Di Stefano (1957 and 1959) and Luis Suarez (1960).
Vinicius finished in second place in the Ballon d’Or rankings while his Real Madrid teammate Jude Bellingham took third position ahead of the likes of Dani Carvajal and Lautaro Martinez.
In the women’s category, Barcelona and Spain midfielder, Aitana Bonmati won the women’s award for the second consecutive year.
It has been another glorious year for the 26-year-old, who won a Liga F and UEFA Women’s Champions League double with Barcelona, as well as the UEFA Nations League with Spain.
After fighting off competition from Barca team-mates Caroline Graham Hansen and Salma Paralluelo to win the award,
Bonmati has now drawn level with club and international team-mate Alexia Putellas.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid decided to boycott the ceremony in anticipation of Vinicius not winning the men’s award. No-one from the club was present when they won the men’s club of the year award, and their manager Carlo Ancelotti was named men’s coach of the year.
No doubt this is certain to spark great debate within the football fraternity, considering that Vinicius had enjoyed a tremendous campaign last season and was seen as the overwhelming favourite to win the prestigious honour.
