The Ballon d'Or, which is awarded annually since 1956, is one of the most prestigious individual honours in football.
Rodri won the Ballon d'Or award for the best player in the world, beating Brazil's Vinicius Jr and England's Jude Bellingham.
Now, with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo venturing into smaller leagues as they near the end of their brilliant careers, 2024 may finally be the year for the next in line in football royalty.
"The people who have seen Pele, Alfredo Di Stefano or Diego Maradona. The opinions are sentimental, but the other side, if he (Messi) wouldn't have won the World Cup, the opinion and my opinion wouldn't change."
The local government, meanwhile, is deploying more than 200 national police officers to prevent crowds assembling, with mayor Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida also asking people to stay away.
With no fans allowed into venues and Real playing their home games at the 6,000-capacity Alfredo Di Stefano stadium while the Santiago Bernabeu is being refurbished, it will be a title race unlike any other.
Lionel Messi became the all-time top scorer in 'Clasicos' with 21 goals, surpassing Real great Alfredo Di Stefano who scored 18.
Italian duo Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci completed a career Grand Slam after beating Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic 6-1, 6-3 in the women's doubles final at Wimbledon on Saturday.
Frequently bracketed with Pele and Diego Maradona among the greatest exponents of the game, Alfredo Di Stefano, who died on Monday, aged 88, was one of the most complete footballers of all time.
Former Real Madrid soccer star Alfredo Di Stefano, 88, has died in a Madrid hospital two days after suffering a heart attack, Spanish newspapers reported on Monday.
Alfredo Di Stefano may have kicked a ball about with Argentine compatriot Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who was elected Pope Francis I last week, when they were growing up around the same time in Buenos Aires, the Real Madrid great has said.
Real Madrid inflicted a second painful defeat on stuttering Barcelona in five days when Sergio Ramos nodded a late winner in a 2-1 success in La Liga on Saturday.
At the age of 23, Barcelona's Lionel Messi has already come to define an era of European soccer in a way only a handful of players have managed since the days of Alfredo di Stefano.
Jose Mourinho must resolve a tactical dilemma when he attempts to land his first piece of silverware as Real Madrid coach in Wednesday's King's Cup final against Barcelona at Valencia's Mestalla stadium.
Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has answered his critics in the best possible way by adding an 18th King's Cup to the club's trophy cabinet and ending a two-year silverware drought on his debut season.
Real Madrid great Alfredo Di Stefano, who will be 87 in July, has proved he still has plenty of joie de vivre by announcing he plans to marry a Costa Rican woman 50 years his junior.
Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has responded to criticism of his tactics from honorary club president Alfredo Di Stefano by pointing out he is the one who makes the decisions about the way the team plays.
The 79-year-old Argentine led Real Madrid to five consecutive European Cups between 1956 and 1960 and eight Spanish league titles.
It is expected that the Real Madrid great will be admitted to the intensive care unit in the next few hours.\n
Real Madrid great Alfredo Di Stefano was honoured by world football's governing bodies, his former club and fellow players in an emotive celebration of his life in Madrid on Sunday.
Striker Raul became Real Madrid's all-time top scorer on Sunday when he netted twice for the Primera Liga champions in their 4-0 victory away to Sporting Gijon.
Striker Raul set a club scoring record as Real Madrid swept aside Sporting Gijon 4-0 away on Sunday to cut Barcelona's lead at the top of the Primera Liga to 10 points.
The list of the greatest living footballers as nominated by Brazilian legend Pele to mark the 100th anniversary of the foundation of FIFA.
Manager Carlo Ancelotti said striker Kylian Mbappe's decision to snub Real Madrid and stay at Paris St Germain was not a distraction ahead of Saturday's Champions League final
Brazilian forward Julio Baptista donned the all-white shirt of Real Madrid for the first time on Monday after signing a five-year deal with the club for an initial fee of 20 million euros (13.8 million pounds).
The Spanish giants drew 1-1 at home to Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League.
Images from Saturday's Nations League group matches.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored on his return from injury as Real Madrid thrashed Osasuna 5-2 at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday to equal the club's 1960-61 record of 15 successive La Liga wins.
Former France soccer great Raymond Kopa, who won three European Cups with Real Madrid in the 1950s, died at the age of 85 on Friday.
Real Madrid clinched a record-extending 34th La Liga title with one game to spare by beating Villarreal 2-1 at home on Thursday thanks to two goals from their leading scorer Karim Benzema. Real have 86 points after 37 games, seven more than deposed champions Barcelona who were beaten 2-1 at home to Osasuna.
Images from La Liga matches played on Sunday
Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo and his Real Madrid team-mate Gareth Bale have been shortlisted for this year's coveted Ballon d'Or award.
The Portuguese is reported to be demanding another new deal to bring his salary in line with Lionel Messi and Neymar, the top two earners in world soccer.
Real, who have not won the title since 2017, lead the table on 74 points, four ahead of Barca with five games left and have a superior head-to-head record over the Catalans which would give them the trophy if both teams finished the season level on points.
The season kick backs into action with a local derby between Sevilla and Real Betis on June 11 and there will be fixtures for the following seven days, with Barca hosting Leganes on June 16
It was the third game in a row in which Real had broken the deadlock thanks to a penalty and they sealed the win when Benzema turned provider and allowed Marco Asensio to tap into an empty net early in the second half.
Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde said the football world must get used to the idea that Lionel Messi will retire in the near future.
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