Pep Guardiola makes Lionel Messi point after Real Madrid's Ballon d'Or boycott

Manchester City and Spain midfielder Rodri won the Ballon d'Or, with Real Madrid boycotting the ceremonial aft their guardant Vinicius Jr was beaten to the award

Pep Guardiola trod a diplomatic way erstwhile asked astir Real Madrid's determination to boycott the Ballon d'Or successful protestation astatine Vinicius Jr missing retired connected the apical award.

Real snubbed the lawsuit due to the fact that of the perceived injustice towards Vinicius, with the accolade going to Manchester City midfielder Rodri, the archetypal clip a subordinate from the nine has won the prize. Although Real won squad of the twelvemonth and their brag Carlo Ancelotti scooped the manager of the year, the nine chose to enactment distant en masse from the lavish ceremonial successful Paris.

Asked astir Real's snub, Guardiola pointed retired City striker Erling Haaland attended past year's ceremony, adjacent though helium missed retired connected the apical award, which went to Lionel Messi for the eighth time. Although Guardiola said helium felt Haaland deserved to triumph the Ballon d'Or past year, having scored 50-plus goals to assistance City triumph the Treble, helium pointed retired that the striker inactive attended the ceremony, contempt losing retired to Messi, successful a subtle excavation astatine Real for their boycott.

“You person to judge the result, simple,” said Guardiola. “Sometimes you similar it, sometimes you don’t similar it, but it doesn’t matter.

“If they [Real] privation to go, it’s fine. If they don't, it’s good arsenic well. They privation to congratulate? It’s fine. If they don’t privation to congratulate, it’s good arsenic well.

“At Manchester City, we are not present to justice what the different clubs do. For us, past season, Erling won the Treble, scored much than 50 goals and I said to him ‘just being determination you person to beryllium truthful happy’. If you are successful the archetypal 2 oregon three, it’s exceptional. It means you person done an unthinkable twelvemonth and you person to beryllium truthful satisfied.

“Last season, Erling should person won, but Messi won. In the end, it's not important. What it is important is that you correspond thing successful elite shot due to the fact that you, with your team-mates, person thing from a truly bully season.”

What bash you marque of Pep Guardiola's comments? Have your accidental successful the comments section

Rodri, who is retired for the play aft undergoing country connected his anterior cruciate ligament, drew praise from his brag Guardiola for being voted arsenic the champion subordinate connected the planet. “We're truthful arrogant of him,” said Guardiola. “Hopefully it tin springiness him vigor to retrieve good and beryllium with america again adjacent season.”

Of much contiguous interest to Guardiola is tonight's Carabao Cup necktie astatine Tottenham, wherever helium volition beryllium without six outfield players successful Rodri, Kevin De Bruyne, Kyle Walker, Jack Grealish, Jeremy Doku and Oscar Bobb.

Guardiola said: “We won the Carabao Cup 4 times successful a enactment and I ever utilized the aboriginal rounds to play guys who didn't play regularly. Now we person a occupation that we person a batch of injured players and I cannot rotate similar I would bash and I don't privation to enactment overmuch unit connected the young players connected this stage.”

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