Thus, the 2024 Ballon d'Or award has a new owner, midfielder Rodri. He had a successful season last year, helping Man City win the Premier League and Spain win the Euro.
With the new rules, the winner of the 2024 Ballon d'Or will only be revealed on the day of the announcement. This means Rodri does not know whether he will win the title or not, in a context where Vinicius is also highly rated.
However, Rodri insists he will attend the awards ceremony regardless of the result, according to France Football: "When your value is recognised at a very high level, whether you win or not, it is good to go to such events.
Besides, the collective aspect also needs to be taken into account. For example, last year Erling (Haaland) was in a better position than me to win. I wanted to support him in that special moment."
In the 2024 Ballon d'Or, Real Madrid has 3 players in the top 10: Vinicius ranked 2nd, Bellingham ranked 3rd and Carvajal ranked 4th. However, they did not go to Paris, an action considered to be a boycott of this award, when Vinicius could not win.
Rodri said of the Real Madrid players' actions: "What do you want me to tell you? That I wanted them to appear or not? Of course I wanted them to.
“The second, third, fourth place guys are all gone. But I have to respect everyone’s decision. Even if I wouldn’t do the same. In my opinion, knowing how to win is good, but knowing how to lose is also very important.”
It is not uncommon for players who have not won the Ballon d'Or to be absent from the awards ceremony. In the era of Messi and Ronaldo, the two stars have often been absent when their rivals have won.
