“I cannot respect the decision” – Rodri hits back at Real Madrid for Ballon d’Or boycott in new comments | OneFootball

Manchester City’s Rodri has hit out in fresh comments towards Real Madrid following their decision to boycott the 2024 Ballon d’Or ceremony in Paris earlier this year.

The 28-year-old was rewarded for a succession of exemplary seasons for both Manchester City and Spain by becoming the first natural defensive midfielder since Germany’s Lothar Matthaus in 1990 to claim the Ballon d’Or.

The success in Paris came off the back of a European Championship triumph with Spain and his Player of the Tournament accolade in Germany, as well as playing a crucial role in Manchester City’s fourth consecutive Premier League title-winning campaign.

Rodri also shone at the FIFA Club World Cup months prior to those successes, once again claiming the Player of the Tournament prize in Saudi Arabia to highlight his importance to Pep Guardiola’s operation.

But Real Madrid were certainly far from impressed, firmly believing that Vinicius Jr was the rightful winner of the award, despite having not performed at any level to the standard required for Brazil in particular.

Speaking during a new conversation on ‘The Rest is Football’ podcast, Rodri stressed that he has no respect for the decision taken by Real Madrid to boycott the Ballon d’Or ceremony, and insisted on the importance of knowing how to lose as well as win within football.

“I can’t describe the emotion (of winning the Ballon d’Or). In my generation (we) only see two guys winning the trophy (Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo),” the 28-year-old explained.

Rodri continued, on the subject of Real Madrid to be absent from the ceremony in Paris, “I cannot respect the decision. In sport and in life, it’s important to win.

“But I think even more how to lose, and I say always the same – it was my moment, I didn’t want to speak about others. They didn’t want to be there – I want to be with my club, with my family, the people that were there and clapped me, and that was a fantastic moment.”

Rodri is expected to remain sidelined for Manchester City for the remainder of the season, despite the player himself believing that his recovery process can be sped up for him to play some sort of role in the competition before the end of the campaign.