Rodri hits back at Ronaldo following claim his Ballon d'Or triumph was 'unfair'

The Manchester City star was crowned the best men's player of the year in October after a stellar 12 months which saw him win both the Premier League and Euro 2024 with Spain.

Rodri narrowly beat Real Madrid star Vinicius Jr to the prestigious individual prize, and not everyone was happy with this.

After learning that he was not going to win, Vinicius and the rest of the Los Blancos team opted not to attend the awards ceremony in protest.

And five-time Ballon d'Or winner Ronaldo has since weighed in on Rodri's victory, as he argued that the Brazilian should have claimed top prize.

Speaking at the Dubai Globe Soccer Awards, he said: "In my opinion, he (Vinicius) deserved to win the golden ball [Ballon d'Or].

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"It was unfair in my opinion. I say [it] here in front of everybody.

"They gave it to Rodri, he deserved it too, but I think they should have given it to Vinicius because he won the Champions League and scored in the final."

But Rodri has now hit back at Ronaldo in an interview with Spanish publication Diario AS, where he admitted that he had been confused by his questioning of his win.

When asked about the Portugal star's comments, he said: "Well, it's a surprise, honestly, because he knows better than anyone how this award works and, above all, how the winner is chosen.

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"This year, the journalists who voted decided I should win it.

"These same journalists probably voted for him to win it at some point, and I imagine he agreed with them then."

Despite the question marks surrounding his Ballon d'Or triumph, Rodri was integral to the success of both his club and country in 2024.

Named player of the tournament at Euro 2024 as he helped Spain lift the trophy, the midfielder played a key role in helping City win a fourth consecutive Premier League title last season.

In fact, his importance to both sides is such that he has lost just one match for either team in the past 18 months.

And the Spaniard has spoken about the huge impact landing football's greatest individual prize has had on his life.

He said: "It has changed my life. I've talked about that with people close to me.

"Maybe I wasn't aware of it when I won, but it has changed my life. The magnitude of going out in public isn't the same now. Many things I used to do, I obviously can't anymore.

"But it's for a good reason, it's because of the recognition I've had and that's been so important for me and my family. It was an unforgettable moment."

There has arguably been no greater indicator of Rodri's importance than City's struggles since he suffered an ACL injury in September.

Without him, the Citizens have plummeted to sixth place in the Premier League table, and only recently put an end to their worst run of form in eighteen years after just one win in 12 games.