"A perfect year, you deserve it" - Sergio Aguero sends message to Manchester City star as he's nominated for 2024 Ballon d'Or

Sergio Aguero has backed former Manchester City teammate Rodri to win the Ballon d'Or later this year. The Spaniard has been named alongside 29 other players for the award which will be handed out at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris on October 28.

Rodri, a defensive midfielder by trade, racked up nine goals and 14 assists in 50 games across competitions last term. He helped Manchester City win their fifth league title in the last six seasons and played in six of Spain's seven games in their triumphant Euro 2024 campaign.

Aguero, who played 39 times alongside Rodri in their two seasons at Manchester City (2019-21), took to X and wrote:

"Un año perfecto , se lo merece. Vamossssssss Rodri 😎😎🤟🏽 [Translated: A perfect year, you deserve it. Come on Rodri 😎😎🤟🏽]

Rodri and Aguero also share another connection, with the two having played for Atletico Madrid in the past, although during different periods. The former is widely regarded as one of the heavy favorites for the award alongside Vinicius Jr. and Erling Haaland.

Rodri spoke about his chances of winning the Ballon d'Or award recently and admitted that the more offensive players may have an advantage when it comes to securing votes.

The full Ballon d'Or 2024 nominees list including Manchester City quartet

Rodri isn't the only Manchester City player nominated for the prestigious individual award. Phil Foden, Erling Haaland, and Ruben Dias are also in contention to become the first City player to win the Ballon d'Or.

Here is the full list of nominees:

Martin Odegaard - Arsenal
Ruben Dias - Man City
Kylian Mbappe - Real Madrid
Hakan Calhanoglu - Inter
Bukayo Saka - Arsenal
Federico Valverde - Real Madrid
Artem Dovbyk - Roma
Vitinha - PSG
Emiliano Martinez - Aston Villa
Mats Hummels - Roma
Alejandro Grimaldo - Bayer Leverkusen
Lautaro Martinez - Inter
Dani Olmo - Barcelona
Harry Kane - Bayern Munich
Phil Foden - Man City
Erling Haaland - Man City
Vinicius Jr - Real Madrid
Toni Kroos - Real Madrid
Ademola Lookman - Atalanta
Nico Williams - Athletic Bilbao
Cole Palmer - Chelsea
William Saliba - Arsenal
Declan Rice - Arsenal
Lamine Yamal - Barcelona
Jude Bellingham - Real Madrid
Dani Carvajal - Real Madrid
Rodri - Man City
Antonio Rudiger - Real Madrid
Florian Wirtz - Bayer Leverkusen
Granit Xhaka - Bayer Leverkusen

This also marks the first time since 2003 that neither Cristiano Ronaldo nor Lionel Messi have been named in the list of Ballon d'Or nominees. The latter has lifted the golden trophy a record eight times, while Ronaldo has five wins to his name.

About the author

Aniket is a senior editor for Tennis, Golf, Motorsport, and Olympics at Sportskeeda, having 4 years of previous experience. He is also a European and International football writer at SK, with over 2,600 articles under his belt. He started following football in 2004 after watching the Champions League semi-final between Liverpool and Juventus, and has been a Reds fan ever since.

You cannot convince him that Virgil van Dijk isn't the best defender to grace the beautiful game. Liverpool’s comeback against Borussia Dortmund in the Europa League quarter-finals in 2016 left a lasting impact on Aniket since it inspired him to get through a tough phase at the time.

An expert researcher with an OCD-like eye for perfection, Aniket follows matches closely to add interesting facts and statistics to his articles. He double-checks all information, uses only established publications as sources, and always maintains an unbiased tone in his articles.

When not writing, he enjoys playing FIFA and Forza on his Xbox. He also listens to hip-hop, classical rock, and electronic music, and enjoys watching Rick and Morty, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and Family Guy.

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Edited by Aniket Rai