By Selcuk Bugra Gokalp
ANKARA (AA) – Manchester City's Spanish midfielder Rodri received the 2024 Men's Ballon d'Or (Golden Ball) award Monday, which is presented annually to the best players in football.
The 68th edition of the awards was held at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris.
Rodri has been suffering from an anterior cruciate ligament injury since September.
A Rodri-led Sky Blues won 64 matches last season, except for the FA Cup final against Manchester United on May 25, which ended 1-2.
Real Madrid's Vinicius Jr. and Jude Bellingham were ranked behind Rodri respectively.
Barcelona’s Spanish player Aitana Bonmati won the 2024 Women’s Ballon D’or, her second award in a row, while her teammates Caroline Graham Hansen and Salma Paralluelo were ranked behind her.
Aston Villa's Argentine goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez made history by winning the Yachine Award for the best goalkeeper of the year, back-to-back for the first time.
Spanish international Jennifer Hermoso won the Socrates Award, which is given to footballers involved in social and charitable projects.
Real Madrid's Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti won the Johan Cruyff Trophy for the best coach of the year.
The coach of the Chelsea women's team and the US women's team that won the Paris Olympics, England’s Emma Hayes, was named 2024's best coach of a women's team.
With 52 goals each, Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe and Bayern Munich's Harry Kane shared the Gerd Muller trophy, rewarding the top scorer of the season.
Barcelona's young star Lamine Yamal was awarded the Kopa Trophy, which designates the best under-21 player of the year.
Real Madrid, which had no representative at the ceremony and were the winners of last season's Champions League, Spanish La Liga, Spanish Super Cup and European Super Cup, were named the 2024 best men's football club of the year.
Barcelona, the winner of the Women's Champions League, was crowned the 2024 best women's football club of the year.