Fans and pundits alike have chimed in on whether Rodri or Vinicius Jr should win the Ballon d’Or this month.
Surprisingly, Ederson tipped Vinicius over Rodri for the Ballon d’Or.
However, Lothar Matthaus backed Rodri over Vinicius for the Ballon d’Or — as he also claimed Jude Bellingham should finish second behind the Manchester City maestro.
The Real Madrid superstar certainly made a case for why he should win the prestigious award as he scored a stunning hat-trick in his side’s 5-2 hammering of Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday night.
Pep Guardiola confirmed Rodri’s ACL injury ended his season — which has meant that he has been unable to remind the world why he deserves to become the second-ever Spanish player to win the accolade.
As a result, Rodri has been unable to put the mercurial displays like Vinicius’ latest masterclass in the Champions League.
Thierry Henry explains why Rodri should win the Ballon d’Or over Vinicius Jr
On Tuesday, journalist Ben Jacobs revealed that the Brazilian looks set to win the Ballon d’Or.
It seems like it is only a matter of time until it is confirmed that the Manchester City midfielder did not win the award.
However, Thierry Henry made a case for why Rodri should win the Ballon d’Or over Vinicius.
Henry told CBS Sports: “Rodri because I wanted the Xavi and the [Andres] Iniesta when they were performing, people forget about the midfielders and what they do and they’re the heart of the team and he was the heart of Man City, I know they didn’t win the Champions League but he won the Euros.”
“Vinicius Jr didn’t perform at the Copa America. But is he a worthy winner? Yes. He’s outstanding. I keep on saying, for me, right now, as a forward, the best in the world so he deserves it.”
Cesc Fabregas opted for Rodri over Vinicius for the Ballon d’Or due to his undeniable influence on this Manchester City side.
While Alan Shearer predicted Rodri to beat Vinicius to the Ballon d’Or — a claim that could be proven to be incorrect.
Carlo Ancelotti predicted Vinicius to beat Rodri to the Ballon d’Or
Back in August, Carlo Ancelotti predicted Vinicius would beat Rodri to be crowned as the Ballon d’Or winner this year.
Ancelotti said on The Obi One Podcast: “My opinion, who’s going to win, it’s going to be Vinicius because he’s a talented player, did really well last season.”
“Vinicius, talented player, young, good image, I think, can improve, won the league, won the Champions League, scoring in the final and in the semi-final, two goals against [Bayern] Munich.”
“Rodri, he is fantastic midfielder, one of the best midfielders of the competition of course, always, really constant.”
Perhaps one of Rodri’s primary goals upon returning from his injury could be to have yet another special season and go on to win the Ballon d’Or.
The fact that a defensive midfielder like him is even in the conversation goes to show how outstanding a player he is.
It is certainly not unrealistic for Rodri to win the award in the future.
