Ronaldo weighs in on Ballon d'Or debate as he explains why compatriot Vinicius Junior should have landed award ahead of Rodri

Manchester City midfielder Rodri topped the pile in the 2024 Ballon d'Or vote, edging out Real Madrid's Vinicius Jr into second. However, the winger's compatriot believes a "great opportunity" was missed to give the famous award to the 24-year-old.

He told Marca: "Without taking anything away from Rodri, Vinicius should have won the Ballon d'Or, who has missed a great opportunity to crown Vinicius as the best in the world. It has nothing to do with Rodrigo, let's be clear, but Vinicius has been much more decisive during last season."

This year's Ballon d'Or was, arguably, the most controversial one yet as Madrid boycotted the ceremony in Paris when they found out Vinicius wasn't going to claim the top prize. Despite this individual blow, the Brazilian still has a long career ahead of him and will have plenty of chances to win this award one day.

While Rodri may be out for the season with a knee injury, Vinicius Jr could return to action later this month from a thigh issue for Madrid as he seeks to bag as many goals and assists as possible this term. The battle for the 2025 Ballon d'Or is likely to be a hotly-contested one.