City have struggled badly without Ballon d'Or winner Rodri, who suffered a serious knee injury in September.
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.
The winners of the ninth edition of The Best FIFA Football Awards 2024 will be revealed in the early hours of Thursday (Bangladesh time). The awards recognise the year’s top players in women’s and men’s football at club and national levels and celebrate their performances.
Rodri, who won the Ballon d'Or last month, underwent surgery after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury during a 2-2 draw at Arsenal, with manager Pep Guardiola saying he would not play again this season.
“Why would it hurt me? It was my moment, to enjoy with my family. The last thing I’d be thinking about is people who weren’t there, and didn’t want to participate,” Rodri said in an interview with COPE radio.
It was revealed that five of the 99 journalists who voted for this year’s Ballon d’Or left eventual winner Rodri out of their top 10 list while three journos did not have Vinicius Junior, who came second after the Spanish midfielder, in the top 10 of their ballot.
Brazil coach Dorival Junior said that it was an injustice that forward Vinicius Junior did not win the Ballon d’Or this year.
Rodri becoming the first Manchester City player to win the Ballon d'Or award for the best player in the world on Monday did come as a surprise to many, and with ample reasons too as he pipped favourite Vinicius Junior of Real Madrid and Brazil to lift the most prestigious individual award in football.
"What can I say?," said the Spaniard. "First, to congratulate him and all his family and their friends, it's incredible news for him and for all of us."
Vinicius took to social media after finishing second in the prestigious award voting behind Spain and Manchester City midfielder Rodri.
Rodri, a first-time winner of the award, was instrumental in helping his team win an unprecedented fourth successive Premier League trophy last season. He was also named best player at this year's European Championship after Spain lifted a record-extending fourth title.
A tipping point has seemingly been reached in world football’s increasingly hectic schedule, as evidenced by the several high-profile injuries in recent weeks leading up to the latest FIFA window.
Manchester City failed to shrug off the absence of Rodri in a 1-1 draw at Newcastle as they dropped Premier League points for the second consecutive game on Saturday.
Manchester City midfielder Rodri will miss the rest of the season with a serious knee injury, dealing a huge blow to their hopes of winning a fifth straight Premier League title.
The midfielder has been in Spain this week consulting specialists after limping off midway through the first half of the match at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday after a collision with Thomas Partey.
Rodri's loss would be a huge blow to City's hopes of winning a fifth consecutive Premier League title and ambitions of reclaiming the Champions League.
Manchester City will be without Rodri for the start of their Premier League title defence after Pep Guardiola revealed the Spain midfielder has been ruled out of Sunday's opener against Chelsea.
Spanish players Alvaro Morata and Rodri have been given one-match bans for their behaviour during a Euro 2024 presentation in Madrid last month, European soccer's governing body said on Wednesday.
The players sang "Gibraltar is Spanish" on July 15, the day after they won the European Championship with a 2-1 victory over England in Berlin, during a public celebration in the Spanish capital. Gibraltar is a British territory located at the southern tip of Spain.
