Earlier this week, 2024 Ballon d’Or winner Rodri Hernandez reacts to the controversy that has surrounded his successful pursuit of the iconic award. In particular, there had been condemnation in Spain, with many in the nation having believed that Vinicius Junior should have been the victor.
Rodri called the reaction “strange”, and his international teammate Dani Olmo also feels a similar way. As per MD, his belief is that Spanish football as a whole should be celebration its first Ballon d’Or winner since Luis Suarez in 1960.
“The year he had or the years he has had in the past, with the icing on the cake of the European Championship, for which he was chosen as the best player, he deserved it. Seeing Rodri celebrating that moment with his family was very nice. What he said conveys what many of us feel: it is a Ballon d’Or for Spanish football. There were two beasts of world football that swept everything, and it is Spanish football that won.”
There is no doubt that Rodri was a deserved winner of the Ballon d’Or, and the same would have been said of Vinicius if he was successful. It is also true that Spanish football should be delighted by this achievement.