Olaleye Idowu
Real Madrid manager, Carlo Ancelotti has claimed that Manchester City midfielder, Rodri deserved to win the 2023 Ballon d’Or.
The Italian spoke to reporters at his pre-match press conference ahead of Real Madrid’s UEFA Champions League playoffs first leg tie with Man City on Tuesday night.
Urban Express News Online reports that Lionel Messi won the 2023 Ballon d’Or ahead of Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe, Kevin de Bruyne and Rodri, who finished in fifth position in the final rankings.
However, Rodri was crowned the winner of the 2024 Ballon d’Or ahead of Real Madrid duo Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham, who finished in second and third positions, respectively.
As a result, Real Madrid contingent, including Ancelotti boycotted the Ballon d’Or awards ceremony in Paris.
However, Ancelotti believes Rodri is a fantastic player, but insisted that Vinicius should have won the 2024 Ballon d’Or ahead of the Spain international.
“I don’t think it was a bad decision [Real Madrid snubbing the 2024 Ballon d’Or awards ceremony],” Ancelotti said.
“We didn’t want to be involved because we thought Vini Jr. was the winner.
“That doesn’t mean we didn’t respect Rodrigo. He’s a fantastic player and we think he deserved to win it the year before.”
