The Spanish European champion Rodri has been awarded the Ballon d’Or for his outstanding season. The 28-year-old from Manchester City received the award in the evening at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. Rodri won the election, which was shared by the magazine for the first time France Football and the European Football Union Uefa, in front of Vinícius Júnior (Real Madrid) and his teammates Jude Bellingham and Dani Carvajal. Aitana Bonmatí from Champions League winners FC Barcelona prevailed among the female soccer players.
German professionals only played a minor role at the gala. Toni Kroos, who ended his successful career after the home European Championships in the summer, took 9th place. Young star Florian Wirtz (12th place), Real defender Antonio Rüdiger (22) and ex-BVB player also made it to the final of the top 30. Defense chief Mats Hummels (29) made it. The fact that Jamal Musiala was not taken into account caused anger at FC Bayern.
Among the female soccer players, Giulia Gwinn came in 19th place, Lea Schüller (both FC Bayern) in 24th place and Sjoeke Nüsken from Chelsea FC in 25th place. For men, 100 journalists from the 100 best-placed countries in the world rankings were eligible to vote. For women, the 50 best nations were taken into account.
Honor for Franz Beckenbauer
Rodri won the English championship with Manchester City last season and led the Spanish national team to the European Championship title in Germany in the summer. The current season began with a shock for the Spaniard: Rodri suffered a serious knee injury in September and will be out for several months.
The event also commemorated German national soccer player Franz Beckenbauer, who died at the beginning of the year. Beckenbauer was a “unique man with a big, big heart,” said widow Heidi Beckenbauer. The song sung by the former world champion in 1966 was heard in the large hall No one can separate good friends. “He won this award twice and was one of the first global football personalities anyway. His influence on our game across the board is immeasurable,” said Beckenbauer’s long-time companion Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.
The Ballon d’Or has been awarded since 1956 and has long been the award for the best European player. From 2010 to 2015, the Ballon d’Or was organized through a cooperation between the French media group Groupe Amaury France Football belongs to the world association Fifa as a prize to the world footballer. Since this year we have been working with the Uefa – the umbrella association’s sole election for Europe’s footballer of the year no longer exists.
The Spanish European champion Rodri has been awarded the Ballon d’Or for his outstanding season. The 28-year-old from Manchester City received the award in the evening at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. Rodri won the election, which was shared by the magazine for the first time France Football and the European Football Union Uefa, in front of Vinícius Júnior (Real Madrid) and his teammates Jude Bellingham and Dani Carvajal. Aitana Bonmatí from Champions League winners FC Barcelona prevailed among the female soccer players.
