Rodri And Aitana Bonmati Win Ballon dOr: Manchester City and Spain midfielder Rodri won the 2024 men’s Ballon d’Or award for being the best player in the world in the 2023-24 season, pipping Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr. and Jude Bellingham. Aitana Bonmati then also won the women’s award for the second year in a row.
The Ballon dOr 2024 ceremony took place in the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, France, on the evening of Monday, October 28 (early morning of October 29 IST). France Football presented several awards during the ceremony.
Rodri And Aitana Bonmati Win Ballon dOr
As for the namesake award in the men’s category, 30 of the best players in the world were nominated for the honour. However, only a few of them would actually be the favourites to win. It was understood well before the list was even announced that Rodri, along with Real Madrid’s Vini Jr. and Jude Bellingham, would be the favourites to win. And they were the ones who finished in the top three in that order.
The 28-year-old Spanish midfielder has played a massive role in Man City’s dominance over the last few seasons. While he may not have the sheer numbers behind him, having scored 10 and assisted 14 goals for club and country in the season, he showed why he is considered a modern-day midfield maestro.
With a defensive ability on par with the best defenders in the world, Rodri also has fantastic vision to create chances from the deep. Not only was he instrumental in Manchester City winning the Premier League, but he also won the 2024 UEFA Euros with Spain, being named the Player of the Tournament.
Although he is not the most popular winner of the award. It was widely believed that Vinicius Jr., who won the UEFA Champions League and La Liga with Los Blancos as the face of the team, would be winning the trophy.
With that being said, Vini did finish second on the list, followed by Bellingham at third. Fellow Real Madrid player Dani Carvajal was fourth, and Man City star-striker Erling Haaland was fifth. French superstar Kylian Mbappe finished sixth, followed by Inter Milan’s Lautaro Martinez and 17-year-old Spanish wonderkid Lamine Yamal. Retired Madridista Toni Kroos was ninth, and Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane rounded out the top 10.
Check Out: Rodri And Aitana Bonmati Win Ballon dOr
In other awards for the night, Spain and Barcelona star Aitana Bonmati won the Ballon d’Or Feminin for the second year in a row. Another player who won an award for the second time running was Argentina and Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, who won the Yashin award for the best goalkeeper of the season.
The Kopa trophy for the best U-21 player in the world unsurprisingly went to Lamine Yamal, who rocked the world at club and country at just 17 years of age.
The Men’s Johan Cruyff trophy for the best manager of the year went to Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti, while the women’s award for the best manager was won by the former Chelsea and the current US Women’s Soccer Team manager Emma Hayes.
In yet another unsurprising win, Real Madrid was named the Club of the Year for winning La Liga and the Champions League, while Barcelona Femeni won the Women’s Club of the Year award for winning every title under the sun.
The final two awards of the night were the Gerd Muller trophy for scoring the most goals in the season and the Socrates award for the best humanitarian work in the sport. The first of these was jointly won by Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe for scoring 52 goals each in 2023-24. The second award was won by the Spain women’s team and Tigres UANL star Jennifer Hermaso, who stood her ground after being assaulted by former Spanish Football Federation president Luis Rubiales.
Rodri is the first Spanish player to win the men’s Ballon d’Or since legendary striker Luis Suarez (not the Uruguay international) in 1960.
Check Out: Football World Reacts to Vini Jr Ballon dOr Snub
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