Rodrygo admits to being “upset” at not being nominated for the Ballon d'Or

The striker is a regular starter for Real Madrid and the Brazilian national team, has won titles such as the Champions League, LaLiga and the Spanish Super Cup, and yet he is not among the 30 nominees for the Ballon d'Or, the award given by France Football to the best player in the world.

Young Striker says he deserved to be among the nominees

Rodrygo scored 17 goals and provided nine assists in 51 appearances for Real Madrid in the 2023/24 season, in which the Spanish club won the Spanish Super Cup, the Spanish league, and a historic 15th Champions League title. But his numbers apparently weren't enough to earn him a place on the shortlist for the award, and that reveals his disappointment

“I was upset. I think that for the season I had, I deserved to be among the 30, I deserved it. I'm not putting anyone down either, everyone there did a great job. But I think I deserved to be there.”said Rodrygo in an interview with GE.

Embed from Getty Images

_{Rodygo celebrating his goal against Ecuador (Reproduction/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images Embed)}

Neymar criticizes the decision

Rayo's absence from the list of nominees drew criticism from fans and Neymar, who took to social media to question the award nominees. Neymar posted a photo of Rodrygo wearing the Brazilian national team jersey, where they play together, on his Instagram, with the caption: “At least among the top five in the world! Ace”

Check out the list of nominees for the Ballon d'Or:

Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid/England)

Ruben Dias (Manchester City/Portugal)

Phil Foden (Manchester City/England)

Federico Valverde (Real Madrid/Uruguay)

Dibu Martínez (Aston Villa/Argentina)

Erling Haaland (Manchester City/Norway)

Nico Williams (Athletic Bilbao/Spain)

Granit Xhaka (Bayer Leverkusen / Switzerland)

Artem Dovbyk (Girona/Ukraine)

Toni Kroos (Real Madrid/Germany)

Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid/Brazil)

Dani Olmo (RB Leipzig/Spain)

Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen/Germany)

Martin Odegaard (Arsenal/Norway)

Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund/Germany)

Rodri (Manchester City/Spain)

Harry Kane (Bayern Munich/England)

Declan Rice (Arsenal/England)

Vitinha (PSG/Portugal)

Cole Palmer (Chelsea/England)

Dani Carvajal (Real Madrid/Spain)

Lamine Yamal (Barcelona/Spain)

Bukayo Saka (Arsenal/England)

Hakan Çalhanoglu (Inter Milan/Türkiye)

William Saliba (Arsenal/France)

Kylian Mbappe (PSG/France)

Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan/Argentina)

Ademola Lookman (Atalanta/Nigeria)

Antonio Rüdiger (Real Madrid/Germany)

Alejandro Grimaldo (Bayer Leverkusen/Spain)

_{Watch Rodrygo's interview with GE (video: reproduction/Instagram/@ge.globo)}

Even without Rodrygo's presence, Brazilian Vinícius Júnior is on the list for the ceremony that will take place on October 28 and is one of the favorites for the 2024 Ballon d'Or award.

Featured photo: Rodrygo during a press conference, in 2022 (Reproduction: NurPhoto/Getty Images Embed)