The 2024 Ballon d’Or looks good on you Rodri! Despite Vinicius Jr being heavily backed to lift the Golden Ball at Thétre du Chtelet, the Manchester City midfielder surely defied the odds and created history on Monday night. While all of Rodri’s family, loved ones, and even a few of his nominated teammates were there to clap for the Spanish midfielder, Erling Haaland remained a notable absent. But why exactly?

Well, before you start slandering the Norwegian superstar for not being there for his own teammate—despite having his reserved seat at the venue—the reason for his absence will surely leave you in awe. The reason why Haaland chose to miss the Ballon d’Or ceremony in Paris, France was to actually support his close friend and fellow Norwegian, Erik Botheim, in Sweden.

Botheim had a chance to secure the league title with Malmo. And boy oh boy did it prove favorable for Haaland to travel back to his homeland as not only was he able to meet and support his friend, but the 23-year-old even saw him win the domestic title after Malmo was able to secure a 2-1 win over Goteburg. Interestingly, Haaland had even shared a series of pictures on his Instagram stories, attending the match at the Eleda Stadium.

In addition to capturing the venue’s atmosphere, he posted a selfie wearing the Malmo FC jersey with the caption, “Love the colors.” And yes, we know what you’re thinking—but Manchester City fans let it slide, seeing their star player in another club’s colors. That’s likely because the jersey resembles the Sky Blues’ tone. Another pic saw him take a group photo in the stands with friends but facing the pitch backward.

Regardless, just as they say; a real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out. Certainly, Haaland’s heartfelt act shows his true loyalty to his best friend, even if it did come at the cost of not being able to support his Manchester friend and teammate, who won the Ballon d’Or on the very same night.

Then again, one raises eyebrows over the fact that Haaland is yet to formally extend his wishes to Rodri over lifting the very same award he came close to last year.

Manchester City locker room celebrates Ballon d’Or triumph of Rodri but Erling Haaland remains AWOL!

The former Borussia Dortmund may have been posting about his visit to a Norwegian friend, however, the City No. 9 has yet to congratulate his very own domestic teammate over the remarkable achievement. Regardless, that didn’t stop the others from doing so. Starting with Pep Guardiola, who shared the moments of Rodri as well as Aitana Bonmati kissing their respective Golden Ball award on his Instagram stories.

Phil Foden reposted similar moments with a heartfelt caption saying, “Congrats my guy!! Well deserved.” Meanwhile, Ilkay Gundogan took a notch up and posted a picture of him alongside Rodri and wrote a very lengthy caption, saying, “From today on he is finally not ‘underrated’ anymore 😜… I’m especially happy that someone on a defensive position is winning this title and not always just the offensive players!”

Further expressing that no one is better than Rodri, Gundogan added “In the end, there’s only him! What a development in recent years! 👑⚽👏🏼.” The rest who congratulated Rodri for becoming the first Manchester City player to win the Ballon d’Or publically are Kyle Walker, Jack Grealish, and John Stones.

What do you think of this year’s Ballon d’Or?