Rodri has aimed a thinly-veiled dig towards Real Madrid over their controversial boycott of the Ballon d'Or ceremony.

The Manchester City midfielder won the coveted award against the odds last month, despite Real forward Vinicius Junior being the favourite for most of the year. The Brazilian, 24, fired Los Blancos to a La Liga - Champions League double, scoring 24 goals and registering nine assists in 39 appearances.

But it was Rodri, who helped City lift a fourth successive Premier League title and won Euro 2024 with Spain, who claimed the Ballon d'Or, becoming only the second non-attacker to win the award since 2007. Real were so furious with the vote that none of their players, many of whom were nominated such as Jude Bellingham and Dani Carvajal, attended the ceremony in Paris.

Manager Carlo Ancelotti, who won the best men's coach award, was also conspicuous by his absence, as was club president Florentino Perez. Rodri, who used to play for Real's rivals, Atletico Madrid, has now addressed the club's boycott for the first time, mentioning how important it is to 'know how to lose'.

"When your value is recognised at a very high level, final winner or not, it's good to come," the City midfielder told France Football, the magazine which organises the Ballon d'Or. "Besides there is also the collective aspect that's important. For example, last year Erling [Haaland] was in a better position than me to win. I wanted to come to support him in a special moment.

"Knowing how to win but also knowing how to lose is important. And then, this year, with my injury and the rehabilitation, this event was like a breath of fresh air. So when I made the decision to come it was above all to enjoy this superb evening."

Get involved! Did Rodri deserve to win the Ballon d'Or? Have your say in the comments section.

Asked specifically about Real's boycott, the 28-year-old replied: "What do you want me to tell you? That I would have preferred everyone to be there? Of course, I did. The second, third, fourth, etc. were all missing… [but] I have to respect everyone's decision. Even if I would not have acted the same way."

Ancelotti says that the events surrounding the Ballon d'Or are 'behind' Real, insisting on Monday that the club's focus was on the floods in Spain which killed more than 200 people and called off their La Liga fixture away to Valencia.

"The sadness is not [due to the Ballon d'Or], but for what is happening here in Spain," Ancelotti said ahead of Tuesday's 3-1 defeat at home to AC Milan in the Champions League. "[Vinicius] is fine. He realises what is happening. Luckily we didn't play on Saturday and Vinicius trained well, like everyone else."

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