Manchester City midfielder Rodri has responded to Cristiano Ronaldo’s claim that his Ballon d’Or victory over Vinicius Junior, the Real Madrid winger, was “unfair”, saying his comment is surprising.
Rodri landed the prestigious award ahead of Vinicius who, along with his Madrid colleagues, boycotted the ceremony in Paris in protest at what he believed was the wrong decision.
Speaking at the Globe Soccer Awards in Dubai, Ronaldo said:”In my opinion, he [Vinicius] deserved to win the golden ball. It was unfair, in my opinion. I say [it] here in front of everybody
“They gave it to Rodri, he deserved it too, but they should have given it to Vinicius because he won the Champions League and scored in the final.”
In an interview with Spanish outlet AS, Rodri said Ronaldo’s comments were “a surprise”, hitting back at the 39-year-old.
“Well, it was a surprise, really, because he knows better than anyone how this award works and, above all, how the winner is chosen,” Rodri said.
“This year, the journalists who voted have decided that I should win it. Probably, these same journalists were the ones who at some point voted for him to win it, and I imagine that then he would have agreed.”
Rodri is still sidelined with the cruciate ligament injury he sustained during City’s 2-2 draw with Arsenal in September.
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