Manchester City defender Ruben Dias made a heartfelt gesture to former club captain Ilkay Gundogan during Monday’s Ballon d’Or ceremony.
Seven members of Pep Guardiola’s current Manchester City squad were in attendance at the prestigious event in Paris, with Inter Miami and Argentina legend Lionel Messi winning an eighth Ballon d’Or, beating Blues striker Erling Haaland to the award.
Haaland, Josko Gvardiol, Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Ruben Dias, Julian Alvarez and Rodrigo were all amongst the 30-man shortlist, meanwhile goalkeeper Ederson was a Yachine Trophy nominee.
Haaland, who scored 52 goals in 53 appearances during his maiden Manchester City campaign, finished second in the Ballon d’Or rankings, but was the recipient of the Gerd Müller Trophy.
De Bruyne was ranked fourth, meanwhile Rodri finished fifth and Julian Alvarez seventh.
Ilkay Gundogan, who moved to Barcelona on a free transfer during the summer, ranked 14th at the Ballon d’Or awards, having captained Manchester City to a landmark treble – winning the Premier League, Emirates FA Cup and UEFA Champions League.
The German midfielder was present at Monday’s ceremony, and saw Manchester City crowned Club of the Year for a second successive season, with Ferran Soriano and Txiki Begiristain collecting the award alongside current members of the first-team squad.
Gundogan didn’t join the Manchester City squad members to collect the award, despite Ruben Dias subtly attempting to get the former skipper to join the players and staff on the Ballon d’Or stage.
Footage shows the centre-back tapping Gundogan, with the German seemingly choosing against joining former teammates on stage, despite playing an integral role to Manchester City’s success.
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
Before that, Ilkay Gundogan was the biggest headline in Catalonia coming out of El Clasico not for his first goal in Blaugrana, but for his criticism of his teammates after the match. Now at the Ballon d’Or ceremony, the veteran has surprised another of his teammates by walking off during a photo opportunity.
Gundogan was posing with Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Barcelona Vice-President Rafa Yuste, President Joan Laporta and Alejandro Balde, when the German international walked off.
Balde looks taken aback and initially goes to bring Gundogan back, but thinks better of it
Gundogan was initially posing for the photo with them, and it may well have been that he saw someone he wanted to speak to. It definitely took his colleagues by surprise, but it would be disinegenuous to blow it out of proportion.
Gundogan scored twice against Manchester United in the Emirates FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium, and also netted crucial goals against Everton and Leeds United, as Manchester City retained the Premier League title.