Rodri wins Ballon d’Or as Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati claims Feminin award second year running

Aitana Bonmati has won the Ballon d’Or Feminin award for the second year running, while Rodri pipped Vinicius Junior to the men’s Ballon d’Or award in a surprising outcome at the 2024 edition of the ceremony.

Ahead of the awards night, while Real Madrid forward Vinicius had long been seen as the front-runner, rumours emerged that his club had opted out of sending a delegation to France where the Ballon d’Or is hosted, on the suspicion that he had been overlooked in favour of Manchester City midfielder Rodri. That proved to be the case, with nobody from the Santiago Bernabeu club present to accept several trophies which they or individuals from their team won, and no pre-recorded messages sent in to France Football.

Bonmati, presented her award on stage by Natalie Portman, thanked her Barcelona teammates and noted the excellent campaign for Caroline Graham Hansen, who ended up second - while Salma Paralluelo completed a podium from the club.

Former Ballon d’Or winner George Weah then picked out Harry Kane as a player he enjoyed watching, before presenting the men’s award, with Rodri claiming the victory as a new winner and making it a double success on the night for Spain.

Vinicius finished as runner-up, with another Real Madrid player in England midfielder Jude Bellingham finishing third.

Real Madrid were awarded the men’s club of the year, but nobody was present to collect the award, in contrast to Barcelona - winners of the Women’s club of the year - with captain Alexia Putellas inviting several teammates up on stage to collect the prize with her.

However, club president Joan Laporta did also use that moment to congratulate the men’s team and new head coach Hansi Flick for making the world “love” Barcelona again, in a particularly absurd and short-sighted moment.

In the coaches’ awards, renamed the Johan Cruyff trophy, English coach Emma Hayes was the winner in the women’s game after winning the WSL with Chelsea, moving to take over the United States Women’s National Team and claiming Olympic gold in Paris this past summer. Carlo Ancelotti won the equivalent for the men’s award.

The full list of awards handed out at the ceremony were as follows:

Kopa Trophy: Lamine Yamal

Women’s Club of the Year: FC Barcelona

Men’s Club of the Year: Real Madrid

The Gerd Muller Trophy: Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe (52 goals each)

Yashin Trophy: Emiliano Martinez

Socrates Award: Jenni Hermoso

Johan Cruyff Trophy: Emma Hayes and Carlo Ancelotti

Ballon d’Or Feminin: Aitana Bonmati

Ballon d’Or: Rodri