Jude Bellingham makes 'unworthy' claim after Manchester City star Rodri's Ballon d'Or win

Jude Bellingham believes Vinicius Jr. should have won the Ballon d'Or ahead of Rodri after Real Madrid's Champions League and La Liga double last season.

The Manchester City midfielder became the first Premier League player since Cristiano Ronaldo in 2008 to land the lucrative award when he was named as the men's winner at a ceremony in Paris last month.

But despite the 28-year-old helping Manchester City win a fourth Premier League title in a row and Spain to this summer's European Championships, it was Vinicius who was expected to become the latest Real Madrid associate to land the award.

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But when Madrid were informed that was not the case, they decided to boycott the ceremony in Paris despite Carlo Ancelotti, Dani Carvajal, Jude Bellingham also being nominated for various awards.

And now Bellingham has weighed in with his take on events, insisting Madrid team-mate Vinicius should have won the Ballon d'Or after his success at the Bernabeu last term.

"I don't think too much about the Ballon d'Or stuff, you know. There was a lot of talk about it. Me, personally, I think it should have went to someone from Madrid, particularly Vini, in my opinion," said Bellingham in a press conference ahead of his side's game against Liverpool on Wednesday.

"I don't think Rodri is unworthy at all, I think he's an amazing player. I just think because of the season we had as a team it would have been reasonable."

After missing out on the accolade, Vinicius vowed to go one better next year, writing on X: "I'll do it 10x if I have to. They're not ready."

Rodri, meanwhile, has not featured for City since suffering a season-ending injury against Arsenal in September, though he displayed the Ballon d'Or at the Etihad ahead of Saturday's Premier League match against Tottenham.