It looks like the dust won’t be settling easily after yesterday’s 2024 Ballon d’Or ceremony. The soccer world is celebrating Rodri lifting his first-ever Golden Ball—the first Manchester City player to win the award. But that also started conversations about whether he really deserved it or not. After all, Vinicius Jr. of Real Madrid and Brazil was in contention. He had been an important player for Real Madrid in a season that they won the Champions League, LaLiga, and Super Copa. The top three for the award were:

• Rodri
• Vinicius Junior
• Jude Bellingham

Here’s the thing. Over the years, attacking players have dominated winning the award, whereas central midfielders generally don’t appear in the race. This can be established by the fact that only two midfielders won the award: Croatia and Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric in 2018 and Brazil’s Kaka in 2007. So, this has caused many to doubt the outcome of the 2024 Ballon d’Or.

No wonder some are still not over the Manchester City star edging out Vinicius Junior. The latest to join the debate is Zinedine Zidane, who used a Cristiano Ronaldo example to put forth his thoughts. In an interview with DAZN, he said, “If we look at the performances over the season, Vinicius Jr. was outstanding. He deserves recognition for all his hard work and talent.”

“The winner may not be the one who truly deserves it. Honestly, this award lost its credibility in 2018 when Cristiano Ronaldo did not win it,” concluded Zidane.

It might come off as surprising for Zidane to discredit the 2018 awarding of the trophy as Real Madrid star Luka Modric won the award ahead of the Portuguese star. Nevertheless, this echoes back to the time when Ronaldo shared his own stance on prestigious individual awards like FIFA The Best and the Ballon d’Or last season, as he watched his long-time rival, Lionel Messi, secure a historic eighth title.

For the 39-year-old, it was not a question of whether Messi deserved the honor or if it should have gone to other players like Kylian Mbappe or Erling Haaland. Instead, he clarified his views earlier this year: “I simply no longer believe in these awards.”

Interesting Fact: Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo were both absent from the 2024 nominee list. This is the first time in 20 years that neither has been nominated.

As a five-time Ballon d’Or winner, Ronaldo’s disillusionment with the awards he once celebrated has become apparent. His comments reflect frustration with the voting process and the way results are determined. Now, Zidane has joined him in expressing similar doubts, openly sharing his candid thoughts on the matter. However, he was not the only one as a Ballon d’Or nominee also took the opportunity to put down the prestigious award.

Franck Ribery takes a dig at Ballon d’Or amid his own complicated history with Cristiano Ronaldo!

After Rodri was named the 2024 Men’s Ballon d’Or winner, Franck Ribery took to Instagram to share his thoughts. He openly expressed his dissatisfaction with Rodri’s win by posting “Ballon d’Or” along with three laughing emojis. Then again, with more than dissatisfaction, only a few know what Ribery actually meant with his laughing emojis.

For those unaware, it was also a subtle way of slamming the award stakeholders over their award ruling policy. To remind you, in 2013, despite having an outstanding season, Ribery finished third behind Lionel Messi with Ronaldo taking the Golden Ball home.

The former France international achieved a treble—winning the Bundesliga, Champions League, and DFB-Pokal titles—scoring 34 goals and earning UEFA Best Player in Europe honors.

“It was unfair” is just one of the many criticisms Ribery has raised about the Ballon d’Or process. Yet, despite these accomplishments, he did not receive the prestigious award, a decision often viewed as one of the most controversial in its history. Even now, Ribery feels robbed of what he believes should have been his trophy. “They extended the voting period, and something strange happened. I felt it was a political choice,” he said.

Regardless, we would like to know your views on Ballon d’Or in the comments.