Spanish and Manchester City midfielder Rodri has won the prestigious Ballon d’Or, awarded by France Football magazine to the best footballer of the season. The award ceremony took place on Monday at the Chatelet Theatre in Paris. The only African winner of the Ballon d’Or and former President of Liberia George Weah presented the award to Rodri.
Rodri demonstrated outstanding results last season, becoming the champion of England with Manchester City and winning the European Championship with the Spanish national team. Despite a serious knee injury sustained in September, Rodri took to the stage on crutches, supported by the host of the ceremony, Didier Drogba. This moment was especially touching for everyone present.
In addition to Rodri, the top four nominees included three Real Madrid players: team captain Dani Carvajal (4th place), English midfielder Jude Bellingham (3rd place) and Brazilian forward Vinicius Junior (2nd place). Rodri became the first Spaniard to receive the Ballon d’Or since 1960, when Luis Suarez Miramontes won the award.
The ceremony also recognized the achievements of other outstanding personalities in the world of football. Italian Carlo Ancelotti, who heads Real Madrid, was named the best coach of the 2023/24 season. Under his leadership, Real became the champion of Spain, winner of the Champions League and the Spanish Super Cup.
The best coach in the world in women’s football was Emma Hayes, who last season headed London’s Chelsea and led the US team to gold medals at the Olympic Games in Paris.
The best goalkeeper for the second time in a row was recognized as the Argentine Emiliano Martinez from the English Aston Villa. He received the Lev Yashin Prize. Forwards Harry Kane from Munich Bayern and Kylian Mbappe from Madrid Real shared the award for the best striker of the season – the Gerd Müller Prize, and the Raymond Kopa Prize for the best young player of the season was won by Barcelona and Spanish national team player Lamin Yamal.
