Spain effectively annexed the 68th Ballon d'Or awards ceremony on Monday night garnering a clutch of the main prizes as well as providing the controversy in the run-up to the gala at the Theatre de Chatelet in central Paris.
Manchester City midfielder Rodri and the Barcelona playmaker Aitana Bonmati provided the panache with the men's and women's crowns respectively for their performances with their clubs and the Spain national team.
Spanish champions Real Madrid injected the petulance. Executives of the outfit announced during Monday afternoon that their players and coaches would snub the event after learning that their star players Vinicius Junior and Dani Carvajal had not been anointed for the top men's prize.
Hours after their boycott, George Weah, the former president of Liberia and the 1995 Ballon d'Or winner, presented the men's award to a visibly moved Rodri.
"It's an incredible night for me," said the 28-year-old Spaniard who is out for the season with a knee injury.
Gratitude
"Thank you to everyone who voted for me," he added as he choked back the tears. "And thanks to my family for the values they transmitted to me."
Rodri, hailed by his club coach Pep Guardiola as the best midfielder in the world, paid tribute to the Barcelona maestros Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez who controlled the flow and tempo of games with mesmerising effiency during their storied careers but never claimed the accolade.
"This trophy is my victory," added Rodri. "But it is the victory of so many Spanish players, of Iniesta, of Xavi. It is a victory for Spanish football and for the figure of the midfielder."
Rodri becomes only the third Spanish man to lift the Ballon d'Or since the inception of the prize in 1956.
Two Spanish women, though, have claimed four of the six titles.
"Thank you for this award," said 26-year-old Bonmati, who won in 2023.
"It's not an indiviual award. I'm lucky to be surrounded by so many great players.
"Without these people, I wouldn't be able to get these things," she added. "Thanks to the staff, to the club workers, without you we would not achieve so much success."
Bonmati emulates her Barcelona and Spain teammate Alexia Putellas, who won back-to-back Ballon d'Or awards in 2021 and 2022.
Barcelona wunderkind Yamine Lamal notched up another notable accolade.
Not only the youngest player to have played and scored for Spain and win the European championships, he became at 17 years and 107 days the youngest man to win the Kopa award for best player under 21.
"It makes me very proud to get this award," said Lamal who has been compared with the Barcelona legend Lionel Messi.
"I would like to thank my coaches and teammates who have made this possible."
Madrid's withdrawal seemed all the more rancorous and myopic with Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham just behind Rodri in the votes of journalists from the top 100 countries in the rankings of world football's governing body Fifa.
"If the award criteria doesn't give it to Vinicius as the winner, then those same criteria should point to Carvajal as the winner," Madrid told the French news agency AFP.
"As this was not the case, it is clear that Ballon d'Or-Uefa does not respect Real Madrid. And Real Madrid does not go where it is not respected."
Organisers France Football magazine insisted before the prize-giving ceremony that Madrid's move was premature.
Secret
"No player or club knows who has won the Ballon d'Or," said a spokesperson.
In previous years, the winner was informed of the impending honour. But for the 2024 ceremony, organisers said they wanted to preserve the element of suspense.
"All clubs and players are in the same situation," organisers added. "So Real Madrid cannot know whether one of its players will be crowned or not."
Luis de la Fuente, who steered Spain to glory at the 2024 European championships, condemned Madrid's stance.
"It's not good for football that an entity like Real Madrid is not present at a gala of this dimension," said the 63-year-old Spaniard who lost out in the race for coach of the year prize to the Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti.
Award
The 65-year-old Italian was hailed for guiding Madrid to a 36th La Liga title in 2024 and the 2024 Champions League - European club football's most prestigious trophy.
In a further irony, Madrid's double-winning side was awarded the prize for the best men's team of the year for their exploits between August 2023 and July 2024.
In their absence, a video was shown of their brilliance to a dazzling array of the most famous faces in world football.
In other awards, Emilio Martinez was handed the Lev Yashin prize for best goalkeeper. The 32-year-old was saluted for helping his English Premier League team Aston Villa back into European football's top club competition for the first time since 1982 and his role in Argentina's World Cup and Copa America sucesses.
England skipper Harry Kane shared the Gerd Muller award for best striker in Europe with his France counterpart Kylian Mbappé. The men hit the net 52 times.
Mbappé won Ligue 1, the Coupe de France and the French Super Cup during his exploits with Paris Saint-Germain before moving to Madrid.
Kane, for all his potency in front of goal, ended the season without silverware at Bayern Munich.
