'Carvajal second' - Rodri fires fresh jibe at Vinicius Jr after Ballon d'Or fallout

Rodri has weighed in on the Ballon d'Or fallout with Real Madrid by suggesting Vinicius Jr was not even his closest rival for the prestigious award.

Rodri became the first Manchester City player and first defensive midfielder to win the Ballon d'Or recently, pipping Vinicius to the anger of Real Madrid - who boycotted the ceremony in protest at what they saw as a grave injustice.

However, Rodri insists that he was deserving of the award because of his consistency over the last two years, and suggested that Spain teammate Dani Carvajal was more likely to win than Vinicius because of his role in winning Euro 2024 in the summer.

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He told COPE: “I think consistency - I believe that’s the hardest thing in football. I’m not trying to pat myself on the back; when I haven’t been the best, I’ve said so. When I thought someone else deserved it, I’ve acknowledged that too. I believe I was the most consistent player that season.

“Maybe not with the highest peaks, and perhaps last season I had more important or standout moments, but in terms of consistency, I think so. But what do I know? It’s not for me to debate whether I deserved it or not.

"In 2023 I thought I could win it for my great season at City and this year I think I did even better.”

On the Real Madrid boycott, Rodri accepted that he couldn't ignore the developments on the night, saying he wouldn't have acted the same way had he not won.

He also addressed another controversy levelled at him - that he dared to celebrate his victory rather than quietly ignore his