Cristiano Ronaldo on Friday weighed in on the decision to hand the men's Ballon d'Or award to Manchester City's Rodri, saying Brazil and Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr. deserved to win instead.

Vinicius, 24, scored 24 goals in 39 appearances across all competitions to help Real clinch the LaLiga and Champions League double last season, and he also netted in their Champions League final win over Borussia Dortmund.

However, he was pipped to the award by Rodri in October, after the midfielder led City to a fourth straight Premier League title last season before inspiring Spain to Euro 2024 success.

The awards ceremony was not attended by Vinicius' club Real, who decided to boycott it in anticipation of him not winning the men's award.

"I really love the way they do their career, (Jude) Bellingham, Lamine (Yamal) now, this young generation, Vinicius, they do a fantastic job," Ronaldo said at the Globe Soccer Awards.

"In my opinion he (Vinicius) deserved to win the golden ball. It was unfair, I say it here in front of everybody," added the Portuguese captain, who has won the award five times.

"They gave it to Rodri, he deserved it too but I think they should have given it to Vinicius because he won a Champions League."

The Ballon d'Or is decided on the basis of a vote by a panel of journalists from the top 100 FIFA-ranked countries.

Only Argentina superstar Lionel Messi with his six successes has won the Ballon d'Or more than Ronaldo.

The winner of the Ballon d'Or is chosen from the shortlist by an international jury of 100 specialist journalists.

2024 Globe Soccer Award categories and winners

Alongside the standout men's and women's categories, here is a rundown of the other winners.

1. Best Men's player (18 finalists): Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid)
2. Best Midfielder (11 nominees): Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid)
3. Best Forward (10 nominees): Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid)
4. Best Women's player (12 finalists): Aitana Bonmati (Barcelona)
5. Best Men's club (10 finalists): Real Madrid
6. Best Women's club (4 finalists): Barcelona
7. Best Coach (7 finalists, all in men's football): Carlo Ancelotti (Real Madrid)
8. Best Emerging player (7 finalists, all men): Lamine Yamal (Barcelona)
9. Best Agent (7 nominees): Jorge Mendes
10. Best Sporting Director (6 nominees): Piero Ausilio (Inter Milan)
11. Best Middle Eastern player (5 finalists): Cristiano Ronaldo (Al Nassr)
12. Best Middle Eastern coach: Jorge Jesus (Al Hilal)
13. Best Middle Eastern club (4 finalists): Al Ain
14. Revelation award: Olympiacos
15. Maradona Award: Jude Bellingham

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez was given a career-recognition award that named him "The greatest president of all time". Former England and Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand, Alessandro Del Piero, Neymar and Thibaut Courtois all received awards that recognised their career-spanning achievements.