Rodri’s Ballon d’Or win upset a lot of people (Picture: Getty Images)
Tottenham forward Richarlison was absolutely fuming after Vinicius Jr missed out on the Ballon d’Or on Monday night, slamming the ’embarrassing’ decision to hand the award to Rodri.
The Manchester City midfielder won the prestigious prize after another superb season for the Premier League champions and Euro 2024 glory with Spain.
Many had thought Vinicius was likely to be the winner after an excellent year with Real Madrid which saw him win La Liga and the Champions League.
However, Rodri won the top prize and Real Madrid had to make do with second, third and fourth, as Vinicius, Jude Bellingham and Dani Carvajal took those spots respectively.
The Spanish giants did not take the results well, boycotting the ceremony after the decisions were leaked, and Richarlison also feels incredibly upset that his compatriot missed out.
Posting on Instagram, the Spurs star wrote: ‘All of us who live football eagerly await the individual awards each season.
‘Today, all Brazilians who love football woke up expecting to see another player from our country win an award for the best in the world after so long.
Vinicius Jr and Real Madrid as a club felt slighted by the results (Picture: Getty Images)
‘Unfortunately, for reasons that no one can understand, the award did not come.
‘And don’t get me wrong, Rodri is a great player who deserves to be among the best. But Vini not winning the Ballon d’Or was embarrassing, and the only one who lost today was football.
‘I remember Vini saying that his dream was to see the whole of Brazil cheering for him. And that day was today!
‘You are a giant and the best in the world, kid! And no trophy will change that. Keep going and never shut up! We’re together.’
Richarlison got quite emotional about the Ballon d’Or results (Picture: Getty Images)
After Rodri was presented with the award, Vinicius responded himself, posting on X: ‘I’ll do it 10 times if I have to. They’re not ready.’
Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti was named Men’s Coach of the Year at the ceremony but sent a pointed message to organisers as he posted: ‘ ‘I want to thank my Family, my President, my Club, my Players and above all Vini and Carvajal.’
In a statement reported by Spanish newspaper AS, Real Madrid said: ‘If the award criteria doesn’t give it to Vinicius as the winner, then those same criteria should point to (Dani) Carvajal as the winner.
‘As this was not the case, it is clear that Ballon d’Or does not respect Real Madrid. Real Madrid does not go where it is not respected.’
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola was asked about Real Madrid’s boycott of the event and the former Barcelona boss said they were entitled to do what they want, although he would be unlikely to do the same.
Pep Guardiola and Rodri have been huge parts of Manchester City’s success (Picture: Getty Images)
‘It’s up to them,’ he said. ‘If they want to congratulate, that’s fine. If not, that’s fine as well. At Manchester City, we are not here to judge other clubs on what they decide they have to do.
‘Last season for example, Erling [Haaland] won the Treble, scored more than 50 goals. I said to him “just being there, you have to be so happy”. I said the same to Rodri. If you are in the first two, three or four, it’s exceptional. Last season, Erling should win, yes. Should Messi have won? Yes. It doesn’t matter.
‘You and your teammates have done something amazing. Should it be Vinicius? Maybe. It’s not an elite group, it’s journalists who vote.’
On Rodri’s success he said: ‘What can I say? First, to congratulate him and all his family and their friends, it’s incredible news for him and for all of us.
‘All Manchester City, our fans, we are so proud of him. We could never have imagined this years ago, that one [City] player could receive this prestigious award. We are so delighted to share it with him and hopefully, it can give him energy to recover well for next season and be with us again.’