The award ceremony took place on Monday at the Chatelet Theatre in Paris. The award was presented to Rhodri by the only African winner of the Golden Ball and former President of Liberia, George Weah.

Last season, Rodri showed outstanding results, becoming the champion of England with Manchester City and winning the European Championship with the Spanish national team. Despite a serious knee injury sustained in September, Rhodri took to the stage on crutches, supported by the host of the ceremony, Didier Drogba. This moment was especially touching for everyone present.

Besides Rhodri, the top four contenders included three Real Madrid players - team captain Dani Carvajal (4th place), English midfielder Jude Bellingham (3rd place) and Brazilian forward Vinicius Junior (2nd place). Rodri became the first Spaniard to receive the Golden Ball since 1960, when Luis Suarez Miramontes received the award.

The achievements of other outstanding personalities in the world of football were also noted at the ceremony. Italian Carlo Ancelotti, who heads Real Madrid, was named the best coach of the 2023/24 season. Under his leadership, Real Madrid became the champion of Spain, the winner of the Champions League and the Spanish Super Cup.

The best coach in the world in women's football was Emma Hayes, who led Chelsea in London last season and led the U.S. national team to gold medals at the Olympic Games in Paris.

For the second time in a row, Argentine Emiliano Martinez from English Aston Villa was recognized as the best goalkeeper. He received the Lev Yashin Prize. Forwards Harry Kane from Bayern Munich and Kylian Mbappe from Real Madrid shared the award for the best striker of the season - the Gerd Muller prize, and the award for the best young player of the season named after Raymond Copa was won by Barcelona and Spain national team player Lamin Yamal.