During Monday’s Ballon d’Or ceremony, Manchester City defender Ruben Dias made a touching gesture to former club captain Ilkay Gundogan.
Seven current Manchester City players were present at the renowned event in Paris, where Inter Miami and Argentina icon Lionel Messi won his ninth Ballon d’Or, defeating Blues attacker Erling Haaland.
The 30-man shortlist included Haaland, Josko Gvardiol, Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Ruben Dias, Julian Alvarez, and Rodrigo, while goalkeeper Ederson was a Yachine Trophy nominee.
Haaland, who scored 52 goals in 53 appearances during his first season with Manchester City, finished second in the Ballon d’Or rankings but won the Gerd Müller Trophy.
De Bruyne was fourth, Rodri was fifth, and Julian Alvarez was seventh.
Ilkay Gundogan, who joined Barcelona on a free transfer this summer, finished 14th in the Ballon d’Or honors after captaining Manchester City to a historic treble, winning the Premier League, the Emirates FA Cup, and the UEFA Champions League.
The German midfielder attended Monday’s celebration, which saw Manchester City named Club of the Year for the second consecutive season, with Ferran Soriano and Txiki Begiristain accepting the trophy with current first-team players.
Despite Ruben Dias discreetly attempting to persuade Gundogan to join the Manchester City squad members on the Ballon d’Or stage, Gundogan did not accept the honor.
Footage shows the center-back tapping Gundogan, who appears to have declined to join former colleagues on stage despite playing a key role in Manchester City’s win.
Previously, Ilkay Gundogan was the biggest story in Catalonia following El Clasico, not for his first goal in Blaugrana but for his post-match criticism of his teammates. The veteran has now startled another of his colleagues by walking away during a photo opportunity at the Ballon d’Or presentation.
Ruben Dias tapped İlkay Gündoğan on the knee when Dias and his Man City teammates were called up to receive the Men’s Club of the Year award
Gundogan looked sad as he looked at his former teammates
Gundogan’s wife on Instagram
When Gundogan went out, he was posing with Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Barcelona Vice-President Rafa Yuste, President Joan Laporta, and Alejandro Balde.
Balde is taken aback and goes to fetch Gundogan back, but changes his mind.
Gundogan was first posing for a photo with them, and it’s possible he saw someone he wanted to chat with. It certainly caught his coworkers off guard, but exaggerating it would be irresponsible.
Gundogan scored twice against Manchester United in the Emirates FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium, as Manchester City retained the Premier League title.