Manchester City have eight players hoping to win an award at the Ballon d’Or ceremony on Monday, while rivals Manchester United have just two players shortlisted
Manchester City have rejected a request from Manchester United to give Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho a lift to Paris for the Ballon d’Or ceremony, according to reports.
City have four players nominated for the men’s Ballon d’Or award, with Rodri, Erling Haaland, Phil Foden and Ruben Dias making the 30-player shortlist. They also have three players up for the women’s award, with Lauren Hemp, Khadija Shaw and Yui Hasegawa on the shortlist.
New signing Savinho, meanwhile, is one of 10 nominees for the Kopa Trophy which is awarded to the best performing player under the age of 21. City boss Pep Guardiola is also up for the men’s coach of the year award.
And according to the Daily Mail, City have chartered a private jet to transport their ‘sizeable delegation’ to Paris for the ceremony and United asked them if Mainoo and Garnacho could join them on the flight.
Mainoo and Garnacho are United’s only two nominees, having both been shortlisted for the Kopa Trophy, and the club were unwilling to send them to France on their own private jet due to concerns over their carbon footprint.
There were also concerns that it would not be a good look after the club’s recent cost-cutting measures, which have included mass redundancies and the axing of Sir Alex Ferguson’s role as a global ambassador.
However, City are said to have rejected United’s request, claiming there was no room for Mainoo and Garnacho on the jet and alternative arrangements have been made for the pair to travel to the ceremony.
Real Madrid star Vinicius Jr is the favourite to win the men’s Ballon d’Or award, having scored 24 goals across all competitions as he helped Carlo Ancelotti’s side win the Champions League and La Liga last season.
Rodri is also in the mix after helping Spain win Euro 2024 and lifting the Premier League title with City, while Vinicius’ Madrid teammate Jude Bellingham is another name in contention after a stunning debut season in Spain.
There are also six other Premier League players nominated for the award, with Arsenal stars Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice and William Saliba shortlisted alongside Chelsea’s Cole Palmer and Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martinez.
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