Manchester City and Spain midfielder Rodri was awarded the men's Ballon d'Or on Monday after winning a fourth consecutive Premier League title and Euro 2024, at a ceremony boycotted by Real Madrid.
The decision to award the prize for the world's best player to the midfielder came as a surprise, with Real's La Liga and Champions League double winner Vinicius Junior widely seen as the favorite.
Hours before the ceremony in Paris, the Spanish club announced that its delegation would not be in attendance at the Theatre du Chatelet because of what it perceived as a snub of Vinicius.
Rodri, 28, played a key role as City held off Arsenal to win the Premier League title last season and was later named player of the tournament at Euro 2024, as unfancied Spain emerged triumphant in Germany.
▲ Spanish midfielders Aitana Bonmati of Barcelona and Rodri of Manchester City pose with their Ballon d'Or awards at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris on Monday. AFP
Rodri was diplomatic when addressing the question of Real's no-show in his post-award news conference.
"They have their decision, they didn't want to be here for their reasons," he said. "I just focus on my club and my teammates."
Despite the French organizers insisting that the identity of the winner was a closely-guarded secret this year, the news appeared to have leaked ahead of the festivities.
Earlier, Barcelona and Spain star Aitana Bonmati won her second successive women's Ballon d'Or, after leading her club to a historic continental quadruple of titles and claiming the Nations League with her country.
Madrid no-show
The drama in the men's award, however, started hours before the ceremony, as Spanish and European champion Real said if Vinicius was not the winner, then the award should go to his teammate Dani Carvajal.
Like the Brazilian, Carvajal scored in the 2-0 victory against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League final at Wembley.
Vinicius scored 24 goals and made 11 assists in 39 matches across all competitions for Madrid, as he led the club to three titles last season.
"If the award criteria don't give it to Vinicius as the winner, then those same criteria should point to Carvajal as the winner," Real Madrid said in a statement.
"As this was not the case, it is clear that Ballon d'Or does not respect Real Madrid. And Real Madrid does not go where it is not respected."
The Madrid contingent of nominees also included Kylian Mbappe, Antonio Rudiger, Federico Valverde and Jude Bellingham.
The winner of the Ballon d'Or is chosen from the shortlist by an international jury of 100 specialist journalists.
The organizers, the Amaury group which owns the L'Equipe sports daily and France Football magazine, denied that the name of the successor to last year's men's winner Lionel Messi had leaked, and insisted that "no player or club" knew in advance who had won.
When Real was named as the men's team of the year, a video played on the stage in the absence of any club representatives.
'Best in his position'
City manager Pep Guardiola has described Rodri as "in his position, the best".
"He can do everything. The quality, he reads the game, his mentality, he is always ready," Guardiola has said.
In addition to his metronomic passing and ball-winning capabilities, the former Atletico Madrid player has a knack of popping up with crucial goals for both club and country.
His goal won City its first Champions League in 2023, but he also scored vital goals for Spain, such as the equalizer in its last-16 Euro 2024 tie against Georgia.
So central is Rodri to Manchester City, that its past four Premier League defeats have all come when he was absent.
City is currently top of the Premier League, but its chances of winning a fifth straight domestic title were dented in September when Rodri suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury, ruling him out for the season.
Bonmati, 26, joins her Barcelona teammate Alexia Putellas as the only women to win the Ballon d'Or twice since the award's inauguration in 2018.
▲ Spain and Manchester City midfielder Rodri receives the Ballon d'Or from George Weah as a screen shows Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham in second and third place, respectively. No representatives of the club attended the ceremony on Monday. REUTERS
"This cannot be achieved alone, I am very lucky to be surrounded by players who make me better every day," Bonmati said.
The Catalans won every trophy available to them last season — the Spanish league, Cup, Super Cup and a second-successive Women's Champions League.
