The 2024 Ballon d'Or winner has been crowned at the 68th ceremony, with Rodri pipping Vinicius Jr to the coveted prize at a plush event at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris.
There was plenty of speculation going into the ceremony and it emerged that Real Madrid had decided to completely boycott proceedings, with Vini Jr, Jude Bellingham, Carlo Ancelotti, Kylian Mbappe, Arda Guler and president Florentino Perez not travelling.
For the first time since 2003, neither Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo were not nominated for the award which they have completely dominated and won 13 times between them.
The shortlist, decided by France Football, was slowly whittled down by 100 journalists from the top 100 FIFA nations before George Weah announced that Rodri had become the first ever Manchester City player to claim the gong.
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The 28-year-old was instrumental in City's fourth consecutive Premier League title in a row, scoring eight goals and registering nine assists from defensive midfield.
He then followed it up by helping Spain win Euro 2024 in Germany, with Rodri crowned the Player of the Tournament following a string of impressive displays in the middle of the park.
Rodri, currently on crutches after undergoing surgery for an ACL injury suffered against Arsenal, is the first Spaniard to win the Ballon d'Or since Luis Suarez in 1960 and the 50th overall winner.
The former Atletico Madrid man was full of emotion as he spoke in Spanish reflecting on his victory.
“Thanks for being here again everyone, I want to thank those who voted for me," Rodri said.
"Today is a special day not just for me but for my family. First of all, I have to thank a very special person, my girlfriend Laura, today is our eighth anniversary. Without her, things would not be the same.”
Vinicius came second in the rankings, followed by Real teammates Jude Bellingham and Dani Carvajal - the latter winning the Euros alongside Rodri before suffering the very same injury this season.
Top 30 Ballon d'Or rankings in full:
29.Artem Dovbyk (Ukraine, Dnipro / Girona / Roma)
29.Mats Hummels (Germany, Borussia Dortmund)
28.Alex Grimaldo (Spain, Bayer Leverkusen)
27.Vitinha (Portugal, Paris Saint-Germain)
26.Declan Rice (England, Arsenal)
25.Cole Palmer (England, Chelsea)
24.William Saliba (France, Arsenal)
23.Ruben Dias (Portugal, Manchester City)
22.Antonio Rudiger (Germany, Real Madrid)
21.Bukayo Saka (England, Arsenal)
20.Hakan Calhanoglu (Turkey, Inter)
19.Martin Odegaard (Norway, Arsenal)
18.Emiliano Martínez (Argentina, Aston Villa)
17.Federico Valverde (Uruguay, Real Madrid)
16.Granit Xhaka (Switzerland, Bayer Leverkusen)
15.Nico Williams (Spain, Athletic Club)
14.Ademola Lookman (Nigeria, Atalanta)
13.Dani Olmo (Spain, RB Leipzig / Barcelona)
12.Florian Wirtz (Germany, Bayer Leverkusen)
11.Phil Foden (England, Manchester City)
10.Harry Kane (England, Bayern Munich)
9.Toni Kroos (Germany, Real Madrid)
8.Lamine Yamal (Spain, Barcelona)
7.Lautaro Martinez (Argentina, Inter Milan)
6.Kylian Mbappe (France, PSG / Real Madrid)
5.Erling Haaland (Norway, Manchester City)
4.Dani Carvajal (Spain, Real Madrid)
3.Jude Bellingham (England, Real Madrid)
2.Vinicius Jr (Brazil, Real Madrid)
1.Rodri (Spain, Manchester City)
Topics: Ballon d'Or, Rodri, Vinicius Jr
Josh Lawless