PARIS — As Spanish midfielders Rodri and Aitana Bonmatí won the men’s and women’s Ballon d’Or awards as the world’s best footballers on Monday, Real Madrid rejected the star-studded ceremony in Paris in apparent protest.

Rodri, 28, won the prestigious award for the first time after helping Manchester City win the Premier League and being a key player in Spain’s European Championship triumph.

he made it eight-time winner Lionel Messi He moved into second place with a win over Argentina’s Vinícius Júnior from Real Madrid, much to the annoyance of the Spanish club. Madrid and its players stayed away from the ceremony and expressed their feelings on social media.

Rodri showed his emotions when his name was read by former winner George Weah by placing his hands over his face.

“An incredible night for me,” Rodri said. out for the season He arrived at the ceremony on crutches after injuring his anterior cruciate ligament last month. “One of my most important things is that I always try to improve every game.”

Known as a hard-working and selfless player despite his talents, Rodri was quick to direct the praise to others.

“I want to thank once again the people who understand my value in the game,” he said. “When I was a kid, I never thought of winning the Ballon d’Or, but in recent years I decided to get this award. We are playing at the highest level.”

Bonmatí, 26, received his award after helping Barcelona win the Spanish league, Spanish cup and Champions League. Bonmatí joins Barça teammate Alexia Putellas, who has won two titles since the women’s cup was first awarded in 2018. Barcelona beat teammates Norwegian Caroline Graham Hansen and Spaniard Salma Paralluelo with a score of 1-2-3.

Receiving the award from Oscar winner Natalie Portman, Bonmatí said, “It is a pleasure to be here again.” “I would like to thank my teammates and clubs for making me a better football player every year.”

Although attacker Jude Bellingham came third and Dani Carvajal fourth in the voting, and coach Carlo Ancelotti won the coach of the year award, no one from Madrid attended the gala in the center of Paris.

Ancelotti sent a message to X instead as he did ViniciusAlthough Rodri also had an outstanding season, he is considered by many to be the favorite for the award.

“I’ll do this 10 times if necessary,” Vinicius wrote in Portuguese. “They’re not ready.”

Madrid midfielder Eduardo Camavinga made it clear what he thought of the vote, calling it “football politics”.

“Brother, you are the best player in the world and no award can say otherwise.” France international wrote about X along with a photo of her and Vinicius celebrating together. “I love you, brother.”

Former Madrid star Karim Benzema, who won the Ballon d’Or in 2022, posted a supportive message in French on Instagram with the words “Trop Fort” (“So Strong”).

Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, who have won the prestigious individual award 13 times in total, could not compete for this year’s award for the first time since 2003.

Although Rodri was not a flashy player or a prolific goalscorer like Messi and Ronaldo, he had a huge impact on the City team with his ability to cover the defense and distribute clean passes from the back.

“I try to be a leader and improve every day towards the best,” Rodri said.

City looked unbeatable at times when he was on the bench, and his excellent technical ability allowed him to adapt seamlessly to the rapid-fire passing style that the Spaniard made so effective at Euro 2024. He became the first City player to win the award.

“He is a completely egoless player whose level of performance over a very long period of time has been outstanding,” City’s director of football Txiki Begiristain said. “The consistency he shows is the result of hard work and dedication.”

Bonmatí scored 19 goals for Barça for the second consecutive season and took his international tally to 26 with five goals in five appearances for Spain this year.

The Ballon d’Or was created by France Football magazine and has been awarded to men since 1956 and to women since 2018. It is voted by journalists from the top 100 countries in the FIFA rankings.

Each journalist selects 10 players, one from each country, according to the rankings with points attributed to each position. The winner is the player with the most points. Unlike FIFA’s annual awards for the best players, fans are not part of the voting system.

In a good night for Spain and Barça players, young prodigy Lamine Yamal, the youngest ever scorer in the European Championship, won the Kopa award for the best Under-21 player, while Barça won the best women’s team award.

In the absence of Real Madrid, it was chosen as the best men’s team.

Former PSG striker Kylian Mbappé and Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane shared the Gerd Mueller award for scoring the most goals for club and country last season with 52 goals. Mbappé joined Madrid in the off-season.

Argentina’s penalty saving specialist Emiliano Martínez received the best goalkeeper Lev Yashin award.

Ancelotti and Olympic-winning coach Emma Hayes Johan Cruyff won the award for best male and female coach.

Spain forward Jenni HermosoThe Spanish football player, who fought sexism in Spanish football after being kissed on the lips by former federation president Luis Rubiales during last year’s Women’s World Cup final, received the Socrates award for her humanitarian work.

A special award was given by France Football to the wife and son of the late great German football player. Franz Beckenbauer.

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AP Sports Writers Tales Azzoni and Steve Douglas contributed to this report.

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