Rodri’s latest Ballon d’Or triumph will be regarded as perhaps one of the most dramatic editions of the award in its history.
As Rodri won the Ballon d’Or on Monday night, his victory was not met with congratulatory messages from Real Madrid and instead, sly digs after the result was announced at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris.
Vinicius sent a warning after the Ballon d’Or verdict about how the world is “not ready” for the player he will become after he suffered his latest disappointment.
Real Madrid boycotted the Ballon d’Or ceremony as a whole — a drastic step that no club has taken in recent memory at the very least when one of their players has failed to win the award.
Eduardo Camavinga reacted to Vinicius’ Ballon d’Or loss to Rodri by claiming that his teammate does not “need that” accolade as he is “the best player in the world” bar none.
Meanwhile, Rodri was celebrating his Ballon d’Or ceremony win, with more footage surfacing of him doing so alongside Ruben Dias and Txiki Begiristain amongst others.
- READ MORE: Who is Rodri? Get to know Man City’s modest midfield maestro who won a Champions League final
Rodrygo backs Vinicius Jr on social media after he loses Ballon d’Or to Rodri
Manchester City will be proud that alongside their conductor-in-chief at the base of midfield, the likes of Erling Haaland, Phil Foden and Ruben Dias were ranked fifth, 11th and 23rd respectively.
Rodri reacted to winning the Ballon d’Or by thanking his family as well as his club for helping him develop into the best player in the world.
However, Rodrygo Goes expressed his support towards Vinicius on Instagram after his countryman finished second to Rodri in the Ballon d’Or race, writing: “And so our world goes on…we go on. I love you.”
The Real Madrid winger seems dissatisfied with Rodri being ranked above the 24-year-old by France Football.
Previously, Rodrygo admitted Manchester City are “better” than Real Madrid despite his side qualifying for the Champions League semi-final at the Etihad Stadium last season.
Rodrygo named Kevin De Bruyne as his best-ever opponent as well.
Toni Kroos takes a swipe at Rodri after his Ballon d’Or triumph
Toni Kroos revealed Rodri had won the Ballon d’Or even before the ceremony as there was confusion around whether the four-time Premier League winner or Vinicius would come out on top.
On Instagram, Fabrizio Romano captioned his post: “What would you change from Ballon d’Or final 30 rankings announced tonight?”
Kroos commented: “Where do we start?”, followed by a ‘laughing emoji.’
Previously, Toni Kroos has lauded Rodri for being a “key player” for both Manchester City and Spain.
But the retired midfielder seems to have changed his tune.
Rodri would perhaps be best advised not to pay much attention to Kroos and Rodrygo’s claims.
The Spaniard’s biggest takeaway from his historic accomplishment would be to always focus on football.
