Manchester City fans welcomed Rodri back to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, as he showcased his Ballon d’Or.
The Spaniard won football’s biggest individual prize a few weeks ago, beating off competition from Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham.
Rodri was recognised for an amazing 2023/24 season, which followed City’s Treble-winning campaign in which the midfielder was also incredible.
Rodri was a deserving winner of the 2024 Ballon d’Or, but sadly, those of a Real Madrid persuasion have chosen not to accept the result with any grace.
And now, the club’s president Florentino Perez has given an extremely disappointing reaction to Rodri’s win.
Florentino Perez says Rodri’s Ballon d’Or ‘was for a Real Madrid player’
Real Madrid decided not to send any representatives to the recent Ballon d’Or ceremony upon learning that Vinicius wouldn’t win.
The Brazilian was in contention alongside Rodri, but ultimately came up short.
The winger caught wind of this hours beforehand, and Vinicius decided not to travel to the ceremony, with Real Madrid backing their player and sending no one, in a move that many found completely direspectful.
Vinicius then put out a fiery response on X after Rodri won.
Carlo Ancelotti then gave a rather blunt reaction to Rodri’s Ballon d’Or win, refusing to actually name the Manchester City player in his acknowledgment.
And now, Florentino Perez has further embarrassed Real Madrid, saying (as quoted by Fabrizio Romano): “For sure Rodri is a great footballer and, he is from Madrid, he has our affection. He deserved a Ballon d’Or… but not this year, last year. This one was for a Real Madrid player.”
- READ MORE: Who is Rodri? Get to know Man City’s modest midfield maestro who won a Champions League final
Embarrassing from Perez
It’s quite remarkable that we are still having people from Real Madrid play down Rodri’s amazing achievement.
This from Perez is truly disappointing and disrespectful, because he actually directly says one of his players deserved it over the Manchester City star.
He’s tried to come across as less harsh by saying Rodri deserved it last year. But the entitlement here is just off the scale.
Clearly they feel extremely strongly that Vinicius should have won. But he didn’t perform for Brazil and the Copa America, and Rodri’s consistency and the way he has revolutionised the holding midfield position make him a completely deserved winner.
