Rodri’s success at the 2024 Ballon d’Or ceremony in Paris was celebrated ‘internally’ by players at one European powerhouse, a new report has revealed.
The Manchester City midfielder became the first recipient of the illustrious football award from the Etihad Stadium, and the first defensive midfielder to claim the prize since German legend Lothar Matthaus.
Rodri’s success at the ceremony was not met with warm applause from those of a Real Madrid persuasion however, after the La Liga club had convinced themselves that Vinicius Jr was the worthy winner of the award.
Such was their anger and frustration towards the outcome that nobody from Real Madrid travelled to Paris for the evening, and as such let three awards issued to the club go uncollected on stage.
But one direct rival of Real Madrid were more than happy with the success of Manchester City and Spain’s Rodri, with a number of stars from that club taking photos with the winner on the night to show their support for him in the process.
According to the information of Sport’s Toni Juanmarti, ‘many’ Barcelona players ‘internally celebrated’ Rodri’s Ballon d’Or win in Paris on Monday night as many of them play alongside him at international level with Spain.
It is further revealed that there were also those within the Barcelona camp who were happy simply because Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr – who is a direct rival – did not win, and the report claims that those same people believe it was ‘karma for him’.
Many of Barcelona’s squad will be happy for Rodri particularly after his work at the European Championships, with his performances inspiring the side to win the trophy over England in Berlin during the summer months.
Rodri himself has made it clear though that one Real Madrid player in particular showed his support and offered his congratulations for the success on Monday night, with Dani Carvajal making a personal phone call on the evening.
Rodri remains ruled out for the remainder of the season with a serious knee injury, and Manchester City’s main focus will be getting the midfielder fit and ready for the 2025/26 season as opposed to any moment sooner.
