“I simply no longer believe in these awards,” remarked Cristiano Ronaldo last year, expressing his clear discontent with prestigious individual trophies like FIFA The Best and the Ballon d’Or. While many may dismiss it as just his opinion for various reasons, numerous fans are now insisting that the Portuguese star might be right all along. Especially after seeing a shocking Premier League stat about Rodri.

The Spanish midfielder etched his name in the history books by winning the Golden Ball for the first time in the history of Manchester City. However, forget being one of the best for his own club or in the world; the 26-year-old isn’t even the best in England’s top flight. To support this claim, just listen to this jaw-dropping stat.

During the 2023/24 Premier League season, Rodri wasn’t even nominated for the Premier League Player of the Season. The only names to make the cut were his star teammates, Phil Foden and Erling Haaland, Arsenal duo Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard, Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk, Chelsea’s Cole Palmer, and Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins.

It was his own teammate Phil Foden, who lifted the 2023/24 Premier League Player of the Season award. The biggest irony of all is that the England superstar finished outside the top 10 of the final Ballon d’Or rankings, 11th place to be precise. Meanwhile, Erling Haaland finished in 5th place in the rankings. Concerning their other Sky Blue teammate who didn’t make last season’s PL’s Player of the Season list, Ruben Dias finished 23rd place in the 30-men Ballon d’Or list.

However, coming back to Rodri, it surely is quite amusing to see the former Atletico Madrid man taking over the Ballon d’Or, without being even considered for an individual award in the very domestic league he plays in. Regardless, this has sparked more outrage among fans who have taken over the internet!

Soccer fans tear apart the Ballon d’Or win of Rodri after stunning Premier League stat

“Ballon d’Or and [FIFA] The Best are losing credibility,” again some words from Cristiano Ronaldo, which now no longer just an opinion to the fans. Many are echoing the former Real Madrid star’s sentiments by slamming the France Football magazine over the ruling of Ballon d’Or in Rodri’s favor.

Soccer fans are no less than marking it as another controversial win in favor of a player, who has never been the ‘main character.’ It’s not like the Spaniard is a poor player. However, just imagine yourself, Rodri winning before Kevin De Bruyne! That alone is something that makes this fan nothing but ashamed:

“Embarrassing. The football community is embarrassed with that. Rodri don’t deserve. Period. Not a key player for club or country.”

More than a ‘Robbery’, ‘Steal’, and ‘Rigged’ claim, for this netizen, it’s no less than a joke. An award that has always been looked up to not just by players but by the whole soccer community is now being boycotted by many. We wonder if the excitement for Ballon d’Or will be the same ever again!

“Not even the best player in the league not even the best player in his club not even best in his nation (Yamal, Olmo, Carvajal>>) but he wins the balon for such a joke.”

Sure! Winning the Ballon d’Or as a defensive midfielder is indeed an achievement for the history books. However, this netizen claims Dani Carvajal, a ‘much deserved’ candidate for the prestigious award, could have been the one to rewrite history by winning it so as a defender, that for the fact he won the UCL as well as the Euros with Rodri:

“Carvajal was the man of the match in UCL final “despite being a defender”

A cry for help from this fan to understand on what basis Rodri has been backed for the Ballon d’Or, especially after looking at the fact he didn’t make last season’s Premier League top 8 and further implement his case for the Player of the Season award:

“Someone please help me make it make sense 😭”

It’s not just Cristiano Ronaldo who denounced Ballon d’Or. Some old comments from none other than Johan Cruyff recently surfaced about his views on the Ballon d’Or: “Is a bunch of journalist and people voting his friends”. No wonder this fan has something to say that fires a direct shot at the stakeholders of the Golden Ball Awards:

“Ballon d’Or lost its credibility”

Then again, we aren’t the ones to question Rodri’s Ballon d’Or win over someone who could have deserved more. This does make it obvious that not everyone is in favor of this year’s result. Regardless, share your views in the comments.