Football: Real Madrid’s decision to boycott Ballon d’Or is up to them, says Pep Guardiola

London, Oct 29 (SocialNews.XYZ) Following Real Madrid’s decision to boycott the 2024 Ballon d’Or Award ceremony that took place at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris on Monday due to star forward Vinicus Jr missing out on the honour, Manchester City head coach Pep Guardiola refrained from making any comments on the team’s decision claiming it was up to them to make a decision.

"It's up to them. If they want to congratulate you, that's fine. If not, that's fine as well. At Manchester City, we are not here to judge other clubs on what they decide they have to do. Of course, if [Vinicius] won, it would have been more than deserved,” said Guardiola at a press conference on Tuesday.

"I congratulate Carlo Ancelotti for winning the best manager in the world, but it was [Gian Piero] Gasperini or Luis de la Fuente. Of course, they deserved it, but people voted and Carlo also deserved it,” he said.

Rodri won the 2024 Men’s Ballon d'Or trophy and in doing so, became the first Manchester City player to claim the coveted honour. The Spaniard's contributions to Manchester City's Premier League and Spain's 2024 European Championship winning campaign saw him pip Real Madrid trio Vinicius Jr, Jude Bellingham, and Dani Carvajal who completed the top four.

The Man City midfielder has suffered an ACL injury and has been ruled out of the 2024/25 season and was seen with crutches at the event.

Guardiola went on to congratulate Rodri for his achievement. "What can I say? First, to congratulate him and all his family and their friends, it's incredible news for him and for all of us," he said.

"All Manchester City, our fans, we are so proud of him. We could never have imagined this years ago, that one [City] player could receive this prestigious award. We are so delighted to share it with him and hopefully, it can give him the energy to recover well for next season and be with us again,” he added.

Source: IANS