Manchester City defensive midfielder Rodri has won the 2024 Men’s Ballon d’Or Award, MySportDab reports.
The Spaniard beat the competition from his closest rivals and Real Madrid duo Vinicius Jr and Jude Bellingham to clinch the coveted trophy.
He is the third footballer apart from Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi to win the award since 2007.
Rodri was widely tipped to win the award but faced tough opposition from his other rivals who equally had brilliant individual careers in the 2023-24 football season.
Vinicius Jr and Jude Bellingham, who finished second and third on the ranking, respectively, clinched the Champions League and La Liga title with Real Madrid in the said campaign.
They led Los Blancos’ charge for the European and domestic trophy and equally starred for their respective national teams in various tournaments.
However, Rodri’s luck appeared to have shine through following what was also a brilliant outing with his club Manchester City and national team Spain.
With Manchester City, Rodri won the Premier League and reached the semifinals of the of the 2023-24 Champions League before being eliminated by Real Madrid.
He scored eight Premier League goals with nine assists and a goal plus two assists in the Champions League.
On the international scene, Rodri played a crucial role as Spain national team saw off England in 2024 Euro final to win the coveted national team trophy in Europe.
He scored one goals in six matches in the competition and was pivotal in the build-up to the triumph in Germany.
While the Spaniard hasn’t fared better compared in terms of stats, compared to his closest contenders for the award, his game-changing impact for club and country apparently played a key role in his emergence as the winner of the prestigious award.
