Rodri Crowned Ballon d\u2019Or Winner, Outshines Real Madrid\u2019s Vinicius Jr.<\/p>\n
In a star-studded ceremony in Paris, Manchester City\u2019s midfield maestro Rodri clinched the 2024 Ballon d\u2019Or, edging out Real Madrid\u2019s Vinicius Jr. for football\u2019s most prestigious individual accolade.<\/p>\n
Rodri\u2019s phenomenal year, marked by triumphs in the Premier League, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup, and a Euro 2024 victory with Spain, made him the standout candidate. His primary rival, Vinicius Jr., had been in the spotlight leading up to the event but chose not to attend upon discovering he would not secure the award. Jude Bellingham, another Ballon d\u2019Or nominee and Vinicius\u2019 teammate, was also notably absent.<\/p>\n
Rodri\u2019s win makes him the first midfielder to claim the Ballon d\u2019Or since Luka Modric in 2018, and the first Premier League player to receive it since Cristiano Ronaldo in 2008. However, his recent ACL injury has sidelined him for the season, an absence City is already feeling as defensive struggles have emerged without him anchoring the midfield.<\/p>\n
Up next, Manchester City faces Tottenham in the Carabao Cup Round of 16, where they will look to prove their resilience without their newly crowned Ballon d\u2019Or winner.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Rodri Crowned Ballon d\u2019Or Winner, Outshines Real Madrid\u2019s Vinicius Jr. In a star-studded ceremony in Paris, Manchester City\u2019s midfield maestro Rodri clinched the 2024 Ballon d\u2019Or, edging out Real Madrid\u2019s Vinicius Jr. for football\u2019s most prestigious individual accolade. Rodri\u2019s phenomenal year, marked by triumphs in the Premier League, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":24321,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n