The Manchester City midfielder's Ballon d'Or victory has been questioned yet again.
Rodri, a Manchester City midfielder, has responded to Cristiano Ronaldo's claim that his Ballon d'Or win was 'unfair'.
In October, the Spaniard won football's most coveted individual trophy in Paris, becoming the first Premier League player to do so since Ronaldo in 2008.
Although the event was not without controversy, Real Madrid boycotted the entire ceremony since Vinicius Junior did not get the honor.
Now, the former Manchester United and Los Blancos forward, a five-time Ballon d'Or winner, has chimed in on the debate, arguing why the Brazilian should have won instead.
"In my opinion, he (Vinicius) deserved to win the Golden Ball [Ballon d'Or]. It was unfair, in my opinion. "I say [it] here in front of everyone," he stated at the Dubai Globe Soccer Awards.
"They gave it to Rodri, he deserved it too, but they should have given it to Vinicius because he won the Champions League and scored in the final."
In an interview with Spanish tabloid AS, Rodri expressed surprise at Ronaldo for questioning his success while also making a dig at the Al Nassr star.
"Well, it was a surprise, really, because he knows better than anyone how this award works and, above all, how the winner is chosen," he told me. "This year, the journalists who voted thought I should win.
"Probably, these same journalists were the ones who at some point voted for him to win it, and I imagine that then he would have agreed."
Interestingly, Ronaldo has been projected to join Rodri at Manchester City as Pep Guardiola looks for reinforcements after his side's chances of regaining the Premier League title were all but dashed at the turn of the year due to a startling drop in form.
When asked at the Globe Soccer Awards this week if he would lend a "helping hand" to City, the 39-year-old refused to rule out a spectacular move to Etihad Stadium.
"You never know what is going to happen," he remarked, smiling and declining to expand further.
"They gave it to Rodri, he deserved it too, but they should have given it to Vinicius because he won the Champions League and scored in the final."
In an interview with Spanish tabloid AS, Rodri expressed surprise at Ronaldo for questioning his success while also making a dig at the Al Nassr star.
"Well, it was a surprise, really, because he knows better than anyone how this award works and, above all, how the winner is chosen," he told me. "This year, the journalists who voted thought I should win.
"Probably, these same journalists were the ones who at some point voted for him to win it, and I imagine that then he would have agreed."
Interestingly, Ronaldo has been projected to join Rodri at Manchester City as Pep Guardiola looks for reinforcements after his side's chances of regaining the Premier League title were all but dashed at the turn of the year due to a startling drop in form.
When asked at the Globe Soccer Awards this week if he would lend a "helping hand" to City, the 39-year-old refused to rule out a spectacular move to Etihad Stadium.
"You never know what is going to happen," he remarked, smiling and declining to expand further.
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