Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson Moraes was recently quizzed about whether Rodri or Vinicius Jr. should win the Ballon d’Or in October this year.
Ederson backed Vinicius over Rodri for the Ballon d’Or — while emphasising that he would be happy if his teammate at the Etihad Stadium took home the award as well.
Several esteemed names in football have voiced their support in favour of the Spaniard to win the accolade.
Kalvin Phillips feels Rodri deserves the Ballon d’Or — claiming “he has done everything” possible to be worthy of making history.
Lothar Matthaus picked Rodri over Vinicius for the Ballon d’Or as well — citing his incredible performances for club and country.
Alvaro Morata names Rodri as the deserving Ballon d’Or winner due to his “personality and his game” after Spain won the European Championship.
- READ MORE: Who is Rodri? Get to know Man City’s modest midfield maestro who won a Champions League final
How Man City fans reacted to Ederson’s Rodri Ballon d’Or claim
Based on the number of current and former players supporting the 28-year-old’s cause, he seemingly stands a strong chance of winning the award.
But with Ederson voicing his support for his countryman to win the award over Rodri, Manchester City fans were left angered on X about why he did not back his teammates at club level.
One fan wrote: “He deserves to be benched for this.”
“Very disappointing from Ederson.”
“He lost the love of City fans.”
Another supporter wrote: “Eddie angling for that move to PSG it would appear.”
A Manchester City fan also said: “That’s why I never rate Ederson!”
“Wow, why you even say this?”
“Imagine not supporting your own club teammate. You know Rodri more than Vini.”
“No way this is the first thing I see. Terrible answer Eddie.”
Lastly, a fan stated: “Disappointed in Ederson, he should know just how difficult it is for City players to get personal accolades, they have to move mountains. For the fact that he’s dismissed Rodri should be seen as betrayal.”
Last 10 Ballon d’Or winners as Rodri competes with Vinicius Jr
Ederson’s answer suggests that Rodri and Vinicius could go head to head for the Ballon d’Or.
A potentially helpful way of gauging which player has the better chance of winning the accolade would be by taking a look at the previous 10 winners of the accolade — excluding the year 2020 when the award was cancelled.
| YEAR | BALLON D’OR WINNER |
| 2023 | LIONEL MESSI |
| 2022 | KARIM BENZEMA |
| 2021 | LIONEL MESSI |
| 2019 | LIONEL MESSI |
| 2018 | LUKA MODRIC |
| 2017 | CRISTIANO RONALDO |
| 2016 | CRISTIANO RONALDO |
| 2015 | LIONEL MESSI |
| 2014 | CRISTIANO RONALDO |
Apart from Luka Modric, all the other Ballon d’Or winners over the past 10 years have been incredibly productive players in terms of goals and assists such as Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
Based on recent history, Vinicius being a forward himself makes him the frontrunner to win the award.
While Rodri could take encouragement from Modric’s triumph, he too is a more attack-minded midfielder in comparison — which could be bad news for the Manchester City talisman in terms of his prospects of winning the award.
Only time will tell whether the general pattern of goalscorers winning the Ballon d’Or continues or whether the midfield maestro will break the norm this year.
