“When you are a midfielder, when you want to excel, it requires even more effort because these are the positions that require that,” he continues. “You almost have to be like a striker, the placements have changed a lot since the 2000s.”
Asked about the boycott of Real Madrid, upset not to see Vinicius crowned, Rodri did not want to argue. “I can’t be in other people’s heads, you know,” he comments. “They make their decisions. They have their reasons for not wanting to be there. I accept it and I just focus on my club, on my teammates, the people who are there and the people who are happy to congratulate me. And that’s it, I can’t say more on this subject. »
Vinicius, big loser of the evening: “I’ll do 10 times more”
Vinicius, who finished second in the standings, had no words to congratulate the winner. He didn’t argue either. The Brazilian was simply combative, focused on the current season. “I will do ten times more if necessary. They are not ready,” the Real Madrid winger wrote on X.
France Football “very surprised, unpleasantly”
On the side of France Football magazine, we say we are “very surprised, unpleasantly” by the reaction of Real Madrid not to attend the ceremony, where the club was nevertheless awarded as best team of the season.
“I don’t know what to tell you,” admitted the editor-in-chief of France Football, Vincent Garcia, at the microphone of the L’Equipe channel. He once again insisted on the fact that no one was aware “neither on the Real side, nor on the City side” about the 2024 winner. “At the last moment, I don’t know why, I don’t know if some panicked, some wanted to change the rules of the game,” explained Vincent Garcia. “I had a lot of pressure from Real Madrid, like other clubs. I have always been clear, always been fair. Maybe Real Madrid interpreted my silence as a confession. When Real made their decision, I’m not sure there wasn’t an element of bluff. »
“The victory of football”, according to the press
And in all this, the international press is rather unanimous on Rodri’s deserved coronation. In Spain, we are particularly proud of the Spanish double since on the women’s side, it is Aitana Bonmati who is the winner, without forgetting the Kopa trophy won by Lamine Yamal.
“The great celebration of Spanish football: we are the best! », headlines Marca on its site. “Spain is gold” writes AS. “Rodrigo, a Ballon d’Or who was forged through work, a lot of work, talent and a great capacity for adaptation. He was one of the best at Villarreal, Atlético, Manchester City and, of course, with the Spanish national team. No one ever gave him anything for free. Not even this prize, which places him in golden letters among the best Spanish players in history. » For the Spanish daily Sport, it is quite simply “football which won”.
Mark
AS
Sports World
“ConquistadORs”, headlines L’Equipe, again to underline Spanish supremacy. “After almost two decades during which Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo almost exclusively shared the trophy, it was his influence and his way of promoting the collective which led to his crowning. »
“The victory of football,” writes Eurosport France on its portal, again emphasizing the role of the midfielder within a collective. “The ultimate individual award in international football went to Rodri, not the most spectacular player, nor really a superstar. The triumph of the Spaniard from Manchester City is that of another football, that of the needy who take the light, that of a player who enhances the collective rather than being the incarnation of a system. »
“Rodri crowned Ballon d’or, the consecration of a genius from the shadows”, we can read from Le Parisien. “In the rearview mirror of history, they finally see their football rewarded, these geniuses of the ball, these convicts of the collective too often forgotten about individual rewards. Kanté, Griezmann, Van Dijk, Iniesta, more flashy offensive. This year, the ballots finally honored one of them: Rodrigo Hernández Cascante, known as Rodri. »
