Man City, Spain star Rodri beats Vinicius to win Ballon d'Or

Rodri won the 2024 Ballon d'Or, capturing the most prestigious individual accolade in men's soccer on Monday after another superlative season in which he won the Premier League title with Manchester City and Euro 2024 with Spain.

The midfielder trumped Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior, who finished in second place but didn't attend the ceremony, along with the rest of the Real Madrid delegation that was expected to be at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris. They reportedly decided to skip the event because they learned in advance that the Brazilian wouldn't take home the honor.

Vinicius' Real Madrid teammates Jude Bellingham and Dani Carvajal finished third and fourth, respectively.

"A very special day for me, my family, and my country," Rodri said, with translation from BBC Sport.

Lionel Messi, last year's recipient and record eight-time winner of the award, was not among the 30 nominees. With Cristiano Ronaldo also omitted - as he was last year - this was the first time since 2003 that neither has been in contention for the coveted trophy. Rodri is also the first male Ballon d'Or winner aged under 31 since 2015.

Rodri finished fifth in last year's Ballon d'Or rankings, as he collected a historic treble with Manchester City. Although his club exploits in the 2023-24 campaign understandably fell short of that almost imperceptibly high bar, the 28-year-old continued to earn plaudits throughout world football as the nucleus of Pep Guardiola's lineup. He registered his fourth successive Premier League title and his first successes in the Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup.

The former Villarreal and Atletico Madrid player led the Premier League and Champions League for progressive passes last season, and he ranked fourth in England's top tier and second in Europe's flagship competition for the total distance that he carried the ball upfield. Rodri missed four Premier League matches, and Manchester City lost three of them. Since the start of the 2019-20 term, his club has collected 1.90 points per match without him and 2.37 with him.

Rodri tore his ACL on Sept. 22. The previous week, he warned that players were close to going on strike due to the ever-expanding schedule in European soccer.

Arguably the biggest achievement that led to Rodri's Ballon d'Or award was his triumphant run with Spain at last summer's European Championship. He was also named the tournament's best player. He acted as the composed figure in the center of a largely young, exciting lineup - or, as the team's head coach Luis de la Fuente described, Spain's "perfect computer." Spain beat Croatia, Italy, Germany, France, and England during its unbeaten seven-match march to glory.

"Today is not a victory for me, it is for Spanish football, for so many players who have not won it and have deserved it, like (Andres) Iniesta, Xavi (Hernandez), Iker (Casillas), Sergio Busquets, so many others," Rodri said. "It is for Spanish football and for the figure of the midfielder."

Perhaps how Rodri and Vinicius fared on the international stage was what ultimately separated the two. Vinicius, 24, won La Liga and the Champions League with Real Madrid and was awarded the top player in the latter competition. However, Brazil is positioned fourth in South America's World Cup qualifiers after defeats to Uruguay, Colombia, Argentina, and Paraguay, and it fell to Uruguay in a penalty shootout in the quarterfinals of last summer's Copa America.

Vinicius wasn't immune from criticism during those disappointments, as his immense club form sometimes proved elusive on Brazil duty. He's scored in just one competitive international match since he helped the Selecao reach the last eight of the 2022 World Cup.

"From today on he is finally not 'underrated' anymore," Rodri's Manchester City teammate Ilkay Gundogan tweeted.

Gundogan added: "I'm especially happy that someone on a defensive position is winning this title and not always just the offensive players! Rodri is the perfect midfielder and there's no one that plays his position better than he does - there are so many clubs in Europe that are looking for a world class holding midfielder, but in the end there's only him!"

2024 Men's Ballon d'Or rankings

Other men's awards

Real Madrid's no-show meant Harry Kane collected his Gerd Muller Trophy alone despite sharing the distinction of the most goals scored for club and country between Aug. 1, 2023, and July 31, 2024, with Kylian Mbappe (52 each). Real Madrid were named the best men's club and Carlo Ancelotti won Johan Cruyff Trophy as the best men's coach, but no one collected either award.

The other men's winners were Aston Villa and Argentina's Emiliano Martinez, who was honored with a second straight Yachine Trophy as the top goalkeeper, and Barcelona and Spain's Lamine Yamal, who took home the Kopa Trophy as the best Under-21 player.

"You will win one of these trophies one day, my friend," Rodri told Yamal during his speech, with translation from BBC Sport. "Keep working hard."