Rodri breaks his silence after Vinicius Jr’s Ballon d’Or boycott – as Man City maestro explains remarkable journey  to win football’s biggest prize

Rodri broke his silence on Real Madrid’s decision to boycott the Ballon d’Or ceremony in Paris, after the Spanish midfielder became the first Premier League player to win the Ballon d’Or since Cristiano Ronaldo in 2008.

‘They have their decision. They didn’t want to be here for their reasons. I accept that, said Rodri. ‘I just focus on my club and my team-mates and the people who are here and happy to congratulate me and that’s it.’

Speaking during the official press conference after the ceremony where he beat Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jnr to the coveted prize, the Manchester City midfielder said: ‘Winning the Ballon d’Or is something you never think of – my dream was to play in the Spanish first division and professional football and I didn’t even think about these things.

‘I was a kid watching players like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo lifting these kinds of trophies every year and my dream was to play one day with them.

‘I never put a target on myself to be this kind of player. If you see the mountain from down below, of course it’s going to be very high but if you have small goals in your life, you will increase your level and you will be up and very high so I think this is what happened to me.

Vinicius Junior came second and Real Madrid boycotted the event, viewing that as a ‘historic robbery’ according to reports

‘I never thought about winning the Ballon d’Or but in the recent years, I’ve performed at the highest level and the people that voted were romantic about the football I played so I’m very pleased,’ the 28-year-old added.

The Men’s Ballon d’Or is elected by a jury of football journalists representing the top 100 countries in the FIFA Men’s Rankings. 

During the presentation where George Weah, who won the honour in 1995, awarded Rodri the trophy, the Spaniard recalled how he thought his career had ended at 17 while at Villarreal.

‘When I was 17, I left home with my suitcases to Villarreal to live a dream,’ he said. ‘I called my dad crying telling him that it was all over, I had the feeling that this was the end and my father said I’d come all that way and told me to keep going. That changed my mindset.’

Asked by Mail Sport about that tale after, Rodri elaborated: ‘When you arrive in this moment at the top of the world, the only person that knows what you have come through is you.

‘I remember the exact moment when I packed my luggage and travelled away from the family house and those moments are where you have to be really resilient. 

‘In that moment, I wasn’t performing well I was 17 and you know, at that age, there is a guy (Lamine Yamal) who was nominated for the Ballon d’Or. And I was playing in the second or third division in Spain. 

Lamine Yamal was nominated for the Ballon d’Or and picked up the Kopa Trophy for the best young player

‘I really thought that my time was coming to an end. That call to my father was important. Now is when you remember those kind of things – the things people don’t know.’

Rodri, who was on crutches during the evening, is currently out with an ACL injury that will see him play no football for the rest of this season.