The Ballon D'Or

The Ballon D'Or ceremony took place last night and it was an eventful evening with Rodri being crowned the best mens player of the year and none of Real Madrid attending, potentially due to Bellingham and Vinicius Jr being snubbed. But, the night was still a night of celebration even without the greatest team of the year.

The night saw Spain and Barcelona's star boy, Lamine Yamal, pick up a well-deserved Kopa "golden boy" Trophy previously won by players like Jude Bellingham, Pedri and even Yamal's idol Lionel Messi; portraying a bright future for the young man. Last season Yamal set the world alight and reminded everyone that La Masia is a talent factory. Yamal was not only essential to Barcelona's good performances, picking up 7 goals and 9 assists in his debut season but also for Spain and was key to them coming out on top along with teammate and Ballon D'Or winner Rodri. This award was more than deserved for Yamal and it is likely he will continue to build on his performances in the current season and great things can be expected from him.

But, onto league rivals Real Madrid. None of the team were present at the night despite them recieving multiple awards as a team: Mbappe picked up the Gerd Muller award which he shared with Kane, Ancelotti also picked up the first mens coaching Ballon D'Or which has been rightly coined after the great Johan Cruyff. The club as a whole also won the award for the best team of the year and it is embarrassing that no one there was to collect it. This is likely because they're disappointed by the absence of a Ballon D'Or for either of their star men who set the world alight last season. The reason for Rodri picking up the award over the other "great" players is because of his excellent form in the Euros and neither Vinicius Junior or Jude Bellingham were able to rally their teams to victory in an international competition this summer.

In addition to this, Rodri was exceptional for Manchester City and including games with his country went on a 74 game unbeaten run last season and whenever he was on the pitch he was quintessential to his teams success. It is not just this season that has garnered Rodri this respect, he picked up the winning goal in the UCL final in the 22/23 season and has often popped up with a key goal in all competitions for Manchester City which have allowed them to come out on top of these competitions. He has had an incredible 12 months, leading City to their record-shattering 4th consecutive Premier League as well as the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup, the award is more than deserved. Without the 28 year old this season, City have struggled having no engine in their midfield as Rodri always plays his role exceptionally and in his absence a light has been shone on a lack of drive in midfield. For Spain at the Euros he was also outstanding playing a versatile holding/attacking role in La Fuenta's team, a man he thanked in his speech. Showing his greatness on an interntational stage, guiding his country from midfield even chipping in with a knockout stage goal against Georgia and stepping up technically in the final third when it was necessary. Rodri himself is aware of his step up in technicality in the final third arguing he had to "level up" his game from being a "traditional" midfielder as the game has evolved, especially the role of the holding midfielder.

It was an excellent ceremony and the first in 20 years that didn't see Lionel Messi or Crsitiano Ronaldo nominated. However, the downer of the night is the behaviour of Real Madrid. They have thrown their toys out of the pram on an international stage and it only paints them as immature. It was an event that, if they had attended, they would have dominated (minus the Ballon D'Or) and more sympathy may have been felt for Vinicius if he had attended the event but his absence means that Rodri receives his graces. He became not only the first midfielder to win in 8 years but also the first Spaniard to win in over 60 years. How excellent of a season the Spaniard had cannot be understated, but, this has been overshadowed by Real Madrid's idiocy on the biggest stage by not attending and hangs a shadow of immaturity over what was a great evening.