Colossal surprise: the winner of the Ballon d’Or 2024 has been officially announced and it’s not Vinicius Jr! The star of Pep Guardiola, the best footballer in the world: “It’s an incredible evening!”

The Ballon d’Or 2024 found out its winner at the end of a lavish gala that was hosted, as every year, by the Theater du Chatelet in Paris. To the surprise of many, Rodri beat Vinicius Jr.

The latter ranked second, followed even by his colleague from Real Madrid, Jude Bellingham. None of them wanted to participate in the event.

Convinced that the Brazilian was wronged, the “galacticos” resorted to a radical measure. No one from the club went to Paris in protest.

Rodri, winner of the 2024 Ballon d’Or

As far as Rodri is concerned, the Ballon d’Or represents the crowning of a dream year, in which won the European Championship with the Spanish national teamrespectively the Premier League alongside Manchester City. The news obviously brought him indescribable joy.

The speech he gave in Spanish, right after he was declared the winner, is proof. With tears in his eyes, the 28-year-old central midfielder thanked everyone who was with him, but he also wanted to remember Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets, stars who did not have the privilege of receiving the most important individual award given to footballers.

“It’s an incredible evening for me. I would like to speak Spanish for my country. Good evening everyone. First of all I want to thank everyone. Thank you to everyone who voted for me. It is a special award not only for me but also for my family. It is an award that I dedicate to my wife, the most important person in my life. I thank my parents who passed on these values ​​to me, who made me who I am today.

I thank my agent, a very special person. Thank you to all my friends and colleagues, everyone at Manchester City. For me it is very special. I thank my colleagues with whom I won the European Championship. I also want to remember those who did not manage to win the trophy, although they deserved it. I mean Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets,” said Rodri.

Emotional message: “It’s a tough injury, but it’s part of an athlete’s life”

The Ballon d’Or came at an extremely difficult time for the Spaniard, given the fact that is in the process of recovering from the serious injury suffered in the match against Arsenal in the Premier League. Inevitably, he also referred to this aspect in his speech.

“One of my secrets would be that I try every day to improve my game, to be more decisive in certain areas of the field. You have to set goals, work for them. I’m an absolutely normal guy, I prepare every day, I try to be a leader.

I try to learn every day from the best, that’s my role. Now I feel better, it’s a tough injury, but it’s part of an athlete’s life. This is the risk in football. I try to take care of myself, the good part is that I spend more time with my family,” added Pep Guardiola’s star.