The 2024 Ballon d’Or nomination list was recently revealed, which is always bound to divide opinion. For Real Madrid, despite having seven players nominated, it isn’t all sunshine and rainbows.
The seven nominated players for Real Madrid are as follows: Vinicius Junior, Jude Bellingham, Dani Carvajal, Kylian Mbappe, Toni Kroos, Federico Valverde and Antionio Rudiger. Any surprises?
Well, without sounding selfish, there is one Real Madrid player who is unfortunate to not make the list, and he’s made it very clear how he feels, despite using no words to show his unhapiness.
That player is Rodrygo Goes. The Brazil attacker has been in impeccable form for Real Madrid in 2024, being one of their best players. Therefore, it’s a surprise he didn’t make the cut.
Real Madrid star laughs after not being nominated for Ballon d’Or
As pointed out by The Mirror, Rodrygo Goes appears to have posted a directed image to his Instagram story. In fact, it is a compilation of different images, featuring him winning multiple trophies and being involved in action for Real Madrid with a simple crying-with-laughter emoji as the caption.
While it is not outwardly stated, it is easy to read between the lines here. Rodrygo is laughing at the fact he wasn’t even involved in the nominated shortlist.
Rodrygo is not shy to voice his opinion. The more Real Madrid fans learn about his character, the more fiery his attitude seems. In many ways, this is the reason why he is at the very top of the game right now.
In truth, even without Real Madrid tinted glasses, it is quite laughable that Rodrygo was not involved in the shortlist. It would be unfair to highlight names but he made more of an impact than some of the Real Madrid players involved in the list.
Individual honours are not the be-all or end-all of player success. After all, Rodrygo should be proud of the role he played in some Real Madrid honours, including his great performance against Man City in the previous Champions League win.
However, it would’ve been good for his morale to be included in the Ballon d’Or shortlist.