According to sources, Manchester City has turned down Manchester United’s request to provide Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho with transportation to Paris for the Ballon d’Or ceremony.
Rodri, Erling Haaland, Phil Foden, and Ruben Dias are among the four City players on the 30-player shortlist who are nominated for the men’s Ballon d’Or award. Yui Hasegawa, Khadija Shaw, and Lauren Hemp are the three players on the shortlist for the women’s award.
A new signer Savinho, on the other hand, is one of ten candidates for the Kopa Trophy, which is given to the top player under 21. Pep Guardiola, the manager of City, is a candidate for men’s coach of the year as well.
According to the Daily Mail, United asked City if Mainoo and Garnacho could travel with them on the private jet they had rented to take their “sizeable delegation” to Paris for the event.
Having both been shortlisted for the Kopa Trophy, Mainoo and Garnacho are United’s only two nominees. The club was hesitant to fly them to France on their private jet because of their carbon imprint.
The club’s recent cost-cutting initiatives, which included huge layoffs and the removal of Sir Alex Ferguson’s position as a global ambassador, have raised fears that it would not be a good appearance.
But according to reports, City turned down United’s request, saying that there was no space on the plane for Mainoo and Garnacho and that other plans had been made for them to attend the event.
Having scored 24 goals in all competitions to help Carlo Ancelotti’s team win the Champions League and La Liga last season, Real Madrid star Vinicius Jr. is the front-runner to win the men’s Ballon d’Or award.
Jude Bellingham, Vinicius’ Madrid teammate, is also in the running after an amazing rookie season in Spain, while Rodri is also in the running after helping Spain win Euro 2024 and winning the Premier League with City.
Along with Chelsea’s Cole Palmer and Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martinez, six other Premier League players have also been nominated for the award, including Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, and William Saliba of Arsenal.