Sporting player says Manchester City star is ‘inspiration’ to him – Wants to learn from him

Manchester City midfielder Rodri was the deserved winner of the Ballon d’Or, despite the furore coming from Real Madrid and Vinicius Junior.

That’s according to Sporting Club de Portugal midfielder Morten Hjulmand, via TNT Sports Brazil, who believes the Manchester City star was the deserved winner of the award.

Rodri was named as the new holder of the famous golden ball last week after another huge season which had seen him win the Premier League with Manchester City and then Euro 2024 with Spain.

He is only the third player not named Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo to win the award since 2008, with the duo battling it out for the trophy each year during the glory years of their respective careers.

He is also the first player from Spain to win the award and the first player playing in the Premier League to do so since Ronaldo won his first in 2008.

There has been major fallout after he was announced as the winner, though, with Real Madrid and Vinicius Junior left furious that the Brazilian was ignored.

He had been the favourite for many to win the award but ended up skipping the ceremony completely alongside Madrid when they learned ahead of time that the Manchester City star would be the winner.

Debate has been raging over it ever since, but Hjulmand doesn’t believe that there should be any arguments.

“No, I wasn’t surprised,” he said when asked by TNT Sports Brazil.

“When I watch Manchester City or Spain, I see a top player and I think he deserves to win the Ballon d’Or, and I think he is a big inspiration for all the midfielders in the world. When they look at him, they want to learn from him.”