Ballon d'Or winner Rodri has revealed in an interview that Vinicius Junior did not call to congratulate him on winning football's most prestigious individual award.
The Manchester City midfielder edged out Real Madrid's Brazilian striker by 41 points in the journalists' vote, with Los Blancos boycotting the October 28 awards ceremony in Paris, offended that Vinicius would not pick up the award. Rodri became champion of the Premier League with Manchester City and the European champion with Spain in the summer.
"Vinicius didn't call to congratulate me on winning the Ballon d'Or. Why should it hurt me that he wasn't at the ceremony? This was my moment to enjoy it with my family. The last thing I would think about at that moment is the people who weren't there and didn't participate in the awards", said Rodri, adding:
"It's great that people are voting the way they feel. That's someone's opinion. I have a lot of respect for Vinicius and Real Madrid - anyone who knows me knows that...I would vote for Carvajal if I could, as well as Vinicius. Maybe Carvajal second".
28-year-old Rodri is currently recovering from a serious injury. He tore knee cruciate ligaments against Arsenal in September. Without him in the squad, Manchester City have fallen into crisis as they are on a run of four consecutive defeats in all competitions. | BGNES
