Former Manchester United and Real Madrid striker Cristiano Ronaldo has weighed in on Rodri’s 2024 Ballon d’Or victory.. The Manchester City midfielder was named the best player in the world at UEFA and France Football’s annual award show back in October. He claimed the prize after winning the 2023/24 Premier League title with City, as well as the 2024 UEFA European Championship with Spain.. It was a marginal victory as Rodri claimed 1,170 points from the vote in comparison to Vinicius Junior’s 1,129. Jude Bellingham, Dani Carvajal and Erling Haaland completed the top five.. However, Vinicius’ omission sparked outrage from those of a Real Madrid persuasion. The La Liga club boycotted the award ceremony, while the Brazilian’s club and international teammates came out in his defence.. Now, Ronaldo has also delivered his verdict while speaking at the Globe Soccer Awards in Dubai on Friday. On this occasion, Vinicius claimed the prize ahead of the 17 other finalists, which included Rodri, but the former Real Madrid forward believes the Brazilian also deserved this year’s Ballon d’Or.. “In my opinion he deserved to win the golden ball,” he said in front of a crowd, which included Vinicius himself, Neymar and Bellingham. “It was unfair, in my opinion.. “I say here, in front of everybody. They gave it to Rodrigo. He deserved it too but I think they should have given it to Vinicius because he won the Champions League and scored in the final.. “The other issues, for me, is not important. When you deserve [it], you should give it to who deserves it. This is why I love Globe Soccer. They do an honest award.”. Sign up to get even more from our Man City coverage. We want your views, Blues. You can become even more involved with our Man City coverage by signing up. This will unlock a whole host of things – including joining the comments and taking part in our special Q&As, where you can speak directly to our reporters about what’s happening at the Etihad Stadium this week and beyond.. Click here to get started.
