Manchester City made headlines even before a ball was kicked in the UEFA Champions League clash against Real Madrid on Tuesday.
The Citizens opted to display a banner showing Rodri caressing his Ballon d’Or trophy – along with the caption “stop crying your heart out” – right in front of Vinicius Junior, who obviously missed out on the award to the Spaniard, and took it quite badly in public.
It was a clever use of an Oasis lyric to make light of how the Brazilian reacted in a quite childish manner to the decision back in October – although Ian Wright thinks Manchester City have left Rodri in a difficult position by displaying the banner.
What Ian Wright said about Manchester City mocking Vinicius Junior
Speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, the 61-year-old said: “It’s funny, because when I saw it, I thought to myself, it’s an unbelievable accolade for a person to win that, and yes, you want to celebrate it, but would Man United do that? Do you think, would Liverpool do that?
“Do you think that Rodri would have liked that, actually? I was thinking about it, because remember, he’s Spanish as well. It felt awkward, that’s what I thought. I said, that feels awkward.”
Of course, the Manchester City No.16 will have to link up with some Real Madrid players when he is next available to partake in international duty, so it may be quite “awkward” for him amongst those who feel Vinicius Junior deserved the award.
Nevertheless, Rodri himself did not show any signs of annoyance at the banner.
How Rodri reacted to his Ballon d’Or banner
The £62.5m man seemed quite pleased with the display, in truth.
As you can see, cameras picked up Rodri – who is still out with a knee injury – taking a photograph of the banner on his phone with a beaming smile on his face, so it does not initially seem to be an “awkward” moment like Wright suggests.
Whether Manchester City and the Spain international will be made to feel sheepish for the banner later down the line, well, only time will tell.
