Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti vehemently defended his sides' decision to boycott the Ballon d'Or award ceremony last year in protest of Vinicius Jr's snub and said that Rodri, who edged out Vinicius for the award, should have won the prize a year earlier instead of Lionel Messi.

Real Madrid's Ballon d'Or ceremony boycott in October last year has once again become relevant in the build up to the team's UEFA Champions League clash against Manchester City, set to begin at 2:00 am (Wednesday) Bangladesh time.

Although Ancelotti was named the coach of the year in the ceremony he and every other member of Real Madrid did not attend the event because the club felt Vinicius was unfairly looked over.

On Monday, Ancelotti defended that decision in front of the media, saying he respected Rodri as a player but felt the Portuguese midfielder should have won the award a year prior for his role in Manchester City's treble-winning season.

"I don't think our decision was wrong [on Real Madrid's boycott]. We believed Vinicius was the best player last year. That doesn't mean we don't respect Rodri, because he is an outstanding player, but I feel he should have won the Ballon d'Or in 2023."

Messi won his eighth Ballon d'Or in 2023 for his World Cup winning heroics with Argentina in the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Meanwhile, in the 2022-23 season, Rodri was instrumental in Machester City winning the FA Cup, the Premier League and the Champions League, even scoring the decisive goal in the final of the Champions League.