Champions League showdown: Guardiola addresses Ballon d'Or rift with Real Madrid

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has insisted that there are no hard feelings between his club and Real Madrid over the Ballon d'Or controversy. 

The Spanish giants were angered by City midfielder Rodri winning the award ahead of Vinicius Junior and boycotted the ceremony in October.

Guardiola has played down the significance of the incident, stating that it is in the past and that both clubs have moved on. 

He praised both Rodri and Vinicius Junior, acknowledging that both players deserved to win the award.

"Happy for Rodri," Guardiola said, when asked for his opinion on the fall-out. "Vinícius made an extraordinary year as well. He deserved it. Like in the past when [Lionel] Messi and Cristiano [Ronaldo] were fighting for that. The subject is over."

City and Real Madrid will face each other in the first leg of their Champions League play-off at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday. 

Guardiola is expecting a tough challenge from the Spanish giants, who boast a star-studded squad including Kylian Mbappe, Vinícius, Rodrygo and Jude Bellingham.

Despite the quality of the opposition, Guardiola is confident that City can progress to the last 16. 

He believes that his team has the quality to beat anyone on their day. However, he also acknowledged that City will need to be at their best to overcome Real Madrid.

The reverse fixture will be played at Santiago Bernabeu eight days after Tuesday’s encounter.