Exclusive: Rodri’s night but Real Madrid were shameful with Ballon d’Or snub

Man City ace Rodri was a worthy winner of the Ballon d’Or according to Stan Collymore, but the ex-pro slated Real Madrid for their awards gala snub.

It was generally believed that Los Blancos striker, Vini Jr, would get given the prestigious gong, and he had, apparently, even held a party prior to the awards to celebrate according to Relevo.

Even had he won, Collymore had previously said it would’ve been a worthless win.

Rodri was a worthy Ballon d’Or

It soon became clear that initial rumours suggesting that Rodri and not Vini Jr would win the award were not just rumours, and that caused the Spanish giants to boycott the awards en masse.

“Along with Luka Modric, Rodri is the purest player on the planet,” Collymore said to CaughtOffside for his exclusive column.

“I don’t think you could argue with most of the Ballon d’Or’s of Ronaldo or Messi in terms of the levels that they were hitting, but it’s really simple for me.

RODRI IS THE 2024 MEN'S BALLON D'OR! #ballondor @ManCity @ChampionsLeague pic.twitter.com/Cly6Uyr08H

— Ballon d'Or (@ballondor) October 28, 2024

“Individual consistency of performances at a level that others can’t get to, for a period of time that is significant… a player that creates moments that significantly add to your team winning trophies… that’s simple, linear criteria and Rodri ticks all of those boxes.

“He’s been the mainstay of a Manchester City team where he’s been the best player and most consistent player and scored big goals in big games to help win trophies over a period of time.

“Rodri. Ballon d’Or. The end.

“As for Real Madrid not turning up to the gala, I thought it was really mealy mouthed and borderline shameful.

“A trophy let’s not forget that they’ve massively helped overhype, and because their new star boy hasn’t got the glory, they go and make such a big deal about it.

“If it’s true that Vinicius was handing out Rolexes to helpful, friendly team-mates along the way and having an all-night celebration party before the result was officially announced, I think that’s a massive red flag too.”