Paris, Oct 28 (EFE).- Manchester City’s Rodrigo Hernández on Monday became the second male Spanish player to ever win the Ballon d’Or- 64 years after Luis Suárez won it in 1960 – while Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati received the award for the second year in a row.
Rodri is also the first player from the Sky Blues to win the award, with teammates Kevin de Bruyne in 2022 and Erling Haland last year finishing third and second respectively.
Two Spanish clubs also won the award for best club, with Real Madrid named best men’s team and Barcelona best women’s team.
Kylian Mbappé and Harry Kane were awarded the Gerd Muller Trophy for the most goals scored last season on Monday after both finished the season with 52 goals, 44 for their respective clubs and eight for their national teams.
Barcelona striker Lamine Yamal, 17, won the Kopa award for best young player and Argentina’s Emiliano “Dibu” Martínez won the Yashin Goalkeeper of the Year award for the second year in a row.
A few hours before the ceremony, the Real Madrid players decided not to attend the ceremony because they had learned that Vinícius Júnior would not win the top prize, sources at the club told EFE.
The forward was considered a frontrunner for the award after scoring 24 goals and providing 11 assists in 39 games, winning both the Champions League and La Liga.
EFE learned from sources that Real Madrid found it disrespectful that neither Vinícius nor Dani Carvajal were named as winners and therefore decided not to attend the ceremony in Paris.
Four other Real Madrid players were in the running for the Ballon d’Or – Jude Bellingham, Fede Valverde, Antonio Rüdiger and Toni Kroos – and their trainer Carlo Ancelotti won the award for best coach.EFE
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