Rodrygo told ESPN he was “upset” at his omission from this week’s men’s Ballon d’Or shortlist, after helping Real Madrid win a LaLiga and Champions League double last season.
Club teammates Vinícius Júnior, Jude Bellingham, Federico Valverde, Toni Kroos — since retired — Antonio Rüdiger and Dani Carvajal were nominated, as well as Madrid’s summer signing Kylian Mbappé, but there was no place for Rodrygo on the 30-man list.
“I was upset, I think I deserved it,” Rodrygo told ESPN in an exclusive interview on Sunday. “I don’t want to belittle the players who are there, but I think I had a place in the 30. It was a surprise… But there’s not much I can do, I’m not the one who decides these things.”
The Ballon d’Or winner will be announced at a ceremony in Paris on Oct. 28.
Rodrygo scored 10 goals in 34 LaLiga appearances last season, as well as finding the net five times in the Champions League.
His place in the Madrid team has come under pressure with the arrival of Mbappé, although coach Carlo Ancelotti has continued to pick him as part of a three-man forward line so far this campaign.
