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The poster showed Rodri kissing the Ballon d’Or trophy along with the words, “Stop crying your heart out”.
Vinicius Junior and Manchester City’s Tifo (AP and X)
Ahead of the Champions League knockout phase playoff first-leg fixture against Real Madrid at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester City fans unveiled a giant banner showing midfielder Rodri with the Ballon d’Or trophy. The Manchester City footballer won the prized trophy ahead of Vinicius Junior last year. Real Madrid boycotted the Ballon d’Or ceremony in Paris in October 2024, as a mark of protest of the Brazilian forward missing out on the accolade. The poster showed Rodri kissing the Ballon d’Or, along with the words, “Stop crying your heart out”. Vinicius, adjudged Player of the Match in the game against Manchester City, shared his reaction after seeing the poster.
“I saw (the banner). But when opposition fans do things, it always gives me more strength to play a great game and here I did that. … [City] know our history and everything we’ve done in this competition,” Vinicius Junior told Movistar, as per ESPN. The ESPN article went on to suggest that Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola claimed that he had not seen the banner, but the Spaniard branded Vinicius as “an extraordinary player.”
Talking about the incident, Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said at the post-match news conference, “I don’t know if Vini saw it. But having seen the game, if he saw it, it was a big motivation for him.”
Last night’s fixture between Real Madrid and Manchester City marked the fourth successive season and the fifth in six that the two sides faced each other in the knockout stages of the Champions League. Real Madrid won on penalties when the two giants took on each other in the quarter-finals last year and the Spanish side went on to clinch their 15th title.
On Tuesday, Erling Haaland scored twice against Real Madrid but Manchester City failed to clinch a win against Real Madrid in the first leg of the tie. Jude Bellingham earned a last-gasp winner to earn a win for Real Madrid. Carlo Ancelotti’s men put up an impressive gameplay to script a memorable comeback and clinch a 3-2 victory against the Premier League side in the first leg of their Champions League knockout phase playoff on Tuesday.
