Sport
“Rodri Deserved 2023 Ballon d’Or but Vinicius Deserved 2024” – Ancelotti
Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti believes Manchester City’s Rodri should have won the 2023 Ballon d’Or. Speaking ahead of his team’s Champions League clash against City, Ancelotti shared his thoughts on past and present award winners.
Lionel Messi took home the 2023 Ballon d’Or, finishing ahead of stars like Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe, Kevin De Bruyne, and Rodri, who placed fifth. But in 2024, the Manchester City midfielder finally claimed the prize, beating Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham, who finished second and third.
That result didn’t sit well with the Madrid camp. In protest, the club, including Ancelotti, skipped the awards ceremony in Paris. While the Italian coach praised Rodri’s talent, he made it clear that he felt Vinicius should have been the 2024 winner.
“I don’t think skipping the ceremony was a bad decision,” Ancelotti said. “We believed Vini Jr. was the rightful winner. But that doesn’t mean we don’t respect Rodri. He’s a fantastic player, and in our view, he should have won it the year before.”
Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi speaks on the Netherlands’ elimination from the World Cup.
The coach explained why the team was eliminated. “Morocco has gained everybody’s respect now,” Ouahbi said, adding: “It’s not because of what we’ve said. We’ve now shown it.
“We completely dominated a Netherlands team. We had 70% possession, more shots and more expected goals. We controlled the match. We wanted to stay calm, play our game and believe that if it went to penalties, we had an exceptional goalkeeper. We didn’t turn the match into a chaotic battle. We controlled it.”
Nigerian footballer and former captain William Troost-Ekong revealed the standout player for him in the South African team during this World Cup.
He shared that Mbekezile Mbokazi really stood out in the World Cup match against Canada.
Despite their loss, he praised the team’s performance. “It speaks volumes that Mbokazi [Mbekezile] was the best player on the South African team. I believe Okon also had considerable possession of the ball.”
Poland footballer Robert Lewandowski’s new club has officially been revealed.
It can be noted that the player was involved in the ongoing summer transfer window, with negotiations taking place over his future.
The footballer will be joining Chicago Fire. It can be recalled that he visited the club two weeks ago, and the move has now been confirmed. The information was shared by football transfer expert Fabrizio Romano.
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