Players.bio is a large online platform sharing the best live coverage of your favourite sports: Football, Golf, Rugby, Cricket, F1, Boxing, NFL, NBA, plus the latest sports news, transfers & scores. Exclusive interviews, fresh photos and videos, breaking news. Stay tuned to know everything you wish about your favorite stars 24/7. Check our daily updates and make sure you don't miss anything about celebrities' lives.
The decision to award the prize for the world's best player to the midfielder came as a surprise, with Real Madrid's Liga and Champions League double winner Vinicius Junior widely seen as the favourite.
Soccer's top stars from around the world filled the 2024 Ballon d'Or ceremony in Paris.
PARIS : Spain and Manchester City midfielder Rodri won the Ballon d'Or award for the best player in the world on Monday, beating Brazil's Vinicius Jr and England's Jude Bellingham, both of Real Madrid, to the prestigious prize.
Spanish midfielders Rodri and Aitana Bonmati won the men's and women's Ballon d'Or award for the world's best soccer player on Monday.
Manchester City midfielder Rodri has been awarded the Ballon d'Or after a stellar season that saw him pick up silverware with both club and country.
Alejandro Garnacho and Rasmus Hojlund have thanked Erik ten Hag following his departure from Manchester United.
Real Madrid said they will stay away from the Ballon d'Or ceremony in Paris on Monday as they are convinced that their striker Vinicius, the favourite to win the men's award, has been snubbed. The club told AFP it questioned the methods behind the selection of the Ballon d'Or winner, saying that defender Dani Carvajal, another of the 30 players nominated, had also been unfairly overlooked. "If the award criteria doesn't give it to Vinicius as the winner, then those same criteria should point to Carvajal as the winner," the club told AFP. "As this was not the case, it is clear that Ballon d'Or-UEFA does not respect Real Madrid. And Real Madrid does not go where it is not respected."
The organisers of the Ballon d'Or award insisted on Monday that "no player or club" knows who has won the award, responding to Real Madrid's decision to boycott the event because they believe that Vinicius would not win. "All the clubs and players are in the same boat," a Ballon d'Or source told AFP, pointing out the strict confidentiality rules laid down for this 2024 edition.