Rodri has questioned Vinicius Jr’s decision to turn down his ticket to last month’s Ballon d’Or’s ceremony, claiming he ‘would not have acted the same way’.
Vinicius Jr had been considered the strong favourite to get his hands on the prestigious prize after playing a pivotal role in Real Madrid winning the Champions League, La Liga and the Spanish Super Cup last season.
But a leak in the build-up indicated that Rodri, 28, would scoop the award after a stellar year with Manchester City and Spain, in which he won both the Premier League and Euro 2024.
This led to Madrid’s delegation, which had been set to include Vinicius Jr, cancelling their trip to Paris in protest, meaning nobody was in attendance to collect Los Blancos’ Men’s Club of the Year gong.
Vinicius Jr was said to have been ‘devastated’ to finish second behind the City midfielder, later tweeting, ‘I’ll do it 10x if I have to. They’re not ready,’ in a clear message to Ballon d’Or organisers.
Subsequent reports emanating out of Spain revealed how Vinicius Jr had arranged a huge party in Madrid to celebrate winning the award, which the Brazilian scrapped when it became apparent Rodri would triumph.
‘When your value is recognised at a very high level, final winner or not, it’s good to come,’ Rodri told France Football.
‘Besides, there is also the collective aspect that’s important. For example, Erling [Haaland] was in a better position than me to win last year. I wanted to come to support him in a special moment.
‘Knowing how to win but also knowing how to lose is important. And then, this year, with my injury and the rehabilitation, this event was like a breath of fresh air.
‘So when I made the decision to come it was above all to enjoy this superb evening.’
Asked about Vinicius Jr’s decision to snub the event, Rodri replied: ‘What do you want me to tell you?
‘That I would have preferred everyone to be there? Of course, I would have.
‘The second, third, fourth, etcetera were all missing… I have to respect everyone’s decision. Even if I would not have acted the same way.’
Vinicius Jr has branded a ‘sore loser’ as a result of his behaviour, with Gary Neville among those to criticise the forward’s ‘classless’ reaction to Rodri’s win.
‘Rodri is a class-act on and off the pitch and I’m delighted that he won it,’ he went on,’ the former Manchester United and England right-back said on The Overlap US.
‘What I would have hoped but you don’t tend to get that from Real Madrid players because there’s an entitled feel about the club generally, that’s the way in which they are and they’ve produced some of the greatest players of all time and Real Madrid have great players.
‘What I would have liked to have happened was Vinicius Jr to still travel to the awards and that he would have invited Rodri to his party after and he would have celebrated with him and said, “Well done, Rodri, you’re an amazing player and do you know something? Next year, I hope I can win it!”, because that, to me, is what class looks like.
‘We don’t get that. All the Real Madrid players don’t turn up to the event, the manager doesn’t turn up to the event. I think there were five Real Madrid players that were awarded on the night and none of them turned up out of protest, I suspect, that Vinicius has not won it.
‘Vinicius is a special talent, he’s amazing, he’s going to win it one day, I’m sure, but the idea that you try and take the glory away… I get it, he’s a fans’ player, he’s a players’ player, he’s somebody who will be respected all around the world and a good man… I just think it is classless.’
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