Congratulations! Rodri Makes History: First Ballon d’Or Winner for Manchester City, Matching CR7’s Feat Tonight

In the early hours of October 29, the highly anticipated winner of the 2024 Ballon d’Or was officially announced. Manchester City star Rodri outshone three Real Madrid players—Vinícius Júnior, Jude Bellingham, and Nacho Fernández—to become the new Ballon d’Or recipient. With Rodri’s victory, he has set multiple records, even matching the feats of Cristiano Ronaldo.

This year’s Ballon d’Or competition was particularly intense. Thanks to their outstanding performances in La Liga and the Champions League, several Real Madrid players made it into the top 10, with Vinícius Júnior, Jude Bellingham, and Nacho Fernández securing spots in the top four. Initially, media outlets unanimously predicted that Vinícius Júnior would be the new Ballon d’Or winner, a prediction he himself echoed when responding to Gavi, stating that he was about to receive the award.

As the saying goes, it’s unwise to pop the champagne too early, and Vinícius Júnior learned this the hard way. Just before the Ballon d’Or ceremony, multiple renowned journalists, including Fabrizio Romano, revealed that Vinícius Júnior did not win the Ballon d’Or, and the true winner was someone else—Rodri from Manchester City. As a result, the entire Real Madrid team canceled their flight to Paris, and even Kylian Mbappé skipped the ceremony.

In the end, Rodri pulled off an impressive comeback, accepting his first Ballon d’Or trophy with a walking stick. He also made history by setting several records: First, Rodri became the first Ballon d’Or winner in Manchester City’s history, following Erling Haaland’s second-place finish last year.

Second, Rodri is the first Spanish player to win the Ballon d’Or since Luis Suárez in 1960, ending a 64-year wait for Spanish football. Both Xavi and Andrés Iniesta came close to winning the Ballon d’Or but ultimately fell short, and now Rodri has completed the mission.

Third, Rodri is the third Premier League player to win the Ballon d’Or, following Michael Owen and Cristiano Ronaldo. Notably, Rodri also ended the Premier League’s 16-year drought without a Ballon d’Or winner, with the last recipient being Cristiano Ronaldo in 2008.

Fourth, Rodri is the second player in the 21st century to win both the European Championship and the Ballon d’Or in the same year, following Cristiano Ronaldo in 2016. From this perspective, Rodri has already matched the achievements of the Portuguese star.

Fifth, born in 1996, Rodri is the first player from the 1990s generation to win the Ballon d’Or. Previously, Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappé, Neymar, Sadio Mané, Virgil van Dijk, and Mohamed Salah had all made it to the top three in the Ballon d’Or rankings but failed to win the award.

For Rodri, tonight is undoubtedly memorable, but it is a different story for Vinícius Júnior, who is the clear loser. Many fans have endorsed the choice of France Football, believing that Rodri indeed deserves the Ballon d’Or more than the Real Madrid superstar.