The Portuguese great said that Real Madrid's Vinicius Jr. should have been awarded the prize because he "won the Champions League and scored in the final" but the comments from the five-time winner left the Manchester City midfielder bemused.

Quizzed on Ronaldo's remarks by Spanish publication Diario AS, Rodri said: "A surprise, really, because he knows better than anyone how this award works and, above all, how the winner is chosen.

"This year the journalists who vote have considered that I should win it. Probably, these same journalists were the ones who at some point voted for him to win, and I imagine that then he would agree."

Real Madrid boycotted the ceremony last October after learning that Rodri would receive the award instead of Vinicius Jr. but the Spain international says that the honour has been life-changing despite the furore.

He said: "It has changed my life. Many things that I could do before, obviously, I can no longer do. But hey, it is for a good reason ... I have the philosophy that in life you have to take things as they are given to you.

"There is no need to complain when things are not the way you want or go crazy when you win a Ballon d'Or. God has given me what he has given me and I am extremely grateful. I have to deal with everything, including injuries, and move forward."

Rodri recently confessed that it was "scary" to be seen as the best player in the world.

He told FourFourTwo magazine: "To be named the best player in the world, it’s a bit… scary, to be honest.

"It’s scary because of what it means. To be the best of something in the world, it’s crazy. I never expect that.

"You don’t realise until you’re a bit older what you did."