Man City star Rodri 'cannot respect' Real Madrid's Ballon d'Or boycott over Vinicius Junior snub

Rodri has offered a withering assessment of Real Madrid over their decision to boycott the Ballon d'Or ceremony en masse, saying he "cannot respect" the Spanish giants for staying away from Paris on one of the greatest nights of his career.

The Manchester City midfielder was somewhat of a surprise winner of the greatest individual prize in football, one that many close to Madrid had believed was destined for odds-on favorite Vinicius Junior. When news of Rodri's imminent triumph broke in the hours ahead of the ceremony, Madrid opted to withdraw their entire delegation from the event, their men's club of the year prize going uncollected.

Rodri largely demurred from commenting on Madrid's absence in his acceptance speech but speaking on "The Rest is Football" podcast, he did not stint in his criticism of the Spanish giants. Instead, he suggested that Madrid could have taken their disappointment with the grace he believes City did in 2023 when Erling Haaland missed out to Lionel Messi. 

"It's a decision of individuals or clubs in general to decide what to do," he said. "I cannot respect the decision, I always said I wouldn't do it in the same way.  I remember last year that maybe Erling was close to winning it I wanted to be there with him to support with all the club and even though Leo won it, we were there clapping [for] him because Ballon d'Or is a recognition not for a player, it's for a year, for a level of a guy for a whole year. 

"In sport and in life, it's important to win. But I think even more how to lose, and I say always the same, it was my moment, I didn't want to speak about others. They didn't want to be there -- I want to be with my club, with my family, the people that were there and clapped [for] me and that was a fantastic moment."

A repeat triumph will prove beyond the 28-year-old this season after a major knee injury suffered in September. His manager Pep Guardiola ruled him out for the remainder of the campaign when confirming an ACL tear but Rodri is not so sure. "My target is to come back this season," he said. 

"I think in terms of my mentality, it's going to be positive for me to not give up the season and throw it. I don't want to run, you know, I don't want to make mistakes. But yeah, that's my mentality. I don't know when -- In my target is six, seven months, but the physios, they will dictate."