Why Rodri won the 2024 Ballon dOr

Manchester City midfielder Rodri has won the men’s 2024 Ballon d’Or award.

This year’s ceremony took place at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, France, with the best men’s and women’s players over the past year being celebrated for their performances and achievements.

The 30 men’s Ballon d’Or nominees hailed from almost every corner of the world – Argentina, Turkey, Nigeria, Germany and Ukraine all had players included.

Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior was widely expected to take the golden ball, though it had emerged prior to the ceremony that he and his club would be boycotting the event after realising the Brazilian would not be crowned the winner.

Vinicius, who finished in second place ahead of Los Blancos teammates Jude Bellingham and Dani Carvajal, enjoyed a superb 2023/24 campaign for Los Blancos, scoring 24 and assisting 11 in all competitions as Carlo Ancelotti’s side won four trophies, including the La Liga title and the Champions League.

Meanwhile, Bellingham – the first Englishman in the award’s top three since Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard in 2005 – finished last season with an exceptional 23 goals and 13 assists for Madrid, before helping England to the final of the European Championship courtesy of an overhead kick for the ages.

But City and Spain star Rodri was the eventual winner. The 28-year-old might not boast the crowd-pleasing trickery of Vinicius or the acrobatic abilities and lovable arrogance of Bellingham, but he turned his club and country into winning machines from the heart of midfield.

Here’s why we think the panel plumped for the Euro 2024 and Premier League-winning midfielder ahead of the electric Vinicius.

1

He’s so integral to City

Vinicius and Bellingham are both vital players for Madrid. That being said, neither are what you would necessarily call irreplaceable.

If need be, Madrid can rely on the attacking prowess of Rodrygo and Kylian Mbappe without Vinicius on the left-hand side of their attack, while without Bellingham, they have the likes of Federico Valverde and Brahim Diaz ready to step up.

However, for Rodri at City, there is no suitable readymade replacement. To best demonstrate his importance to Pep Guardiola’s team, you only have to look at their Premier League record with and without him since he arrived at the club in 2019. In fact, last season, City didn’t lose a single Premier League game in which Rodri played. Clutch.

2

He shone for both club and country

Vinicius had a great season for Madrid last year, but faltered at the Copa America in the summer for Brazil. Though he scored twice in the group stages, he picked up a suspension that ruled him out of Brazil’s quarter-final against Uruguay and could only watch from the sidelines as his team crashed out on penalties.

In Bellingham’s case, he enjoyed an excellent domestic season and a decent Euro 2024 campaign for England in the summer, but no more than that. Yes, he scored a last-minute overhead kick to save England from exiting to Slovakia in the last 16, but you could argue he went missing on occasion, including in the final.

Rodri, on the other hand, had no such problems. For City, he was the club’s outstanding player, arguably ahead of star striker Erling Haaland, as Guardiola’s side won their fourth consecutive Premier League title. At Euro 2024, he was named as the Player of the Tournament as Spain beat the odds to win the trophy, beating Bellingham’s England in the final.

3

He’s evolved the DM role

In years gone by, the role of the holding midfielder was just that: hold. Sit deep, sweep up the opposition’s attacks before they get past the midfield, distribute, wait, and repeat.

Rodri, however, has taken the role, made it his own, and set a new benchmark for what teams should expect from their deep-lying midfielders.

Not only is he energetic and tenacious in winning the ball back, but he’s also an attacking force to be reckoned with. Last season, he contributed 9 goals and 14 assists in all competitions for City.

For reference, Arsenal’s attacking midfield talisman Martin Odegaard was involved in 18 goals, Crystal Palace’s Michael Olise, whose form last season earned him a move to Bayern Munich in the summer, was involved in 15, while Rodri’s City teammate Bernardo Silva also only contributed to 15.

4

His peers agree

The highest kind of praise you can receive in any line of work is that from your peers – and Rodri has enjoyed plenty of that.

After City beat Luton Town in the Premier League back in December, Hatters midfielder Tom Lockyer said of Rodri: “Honestly that guy man, it’s just a joy to share the football pitch with him.

“He’s just a Rolls Royce,” Lockyer added. “He just dictates everything that Manchester City do.”

Spain manager Luis de la Fuente said of Rodri after Spain’s Euro 2024 triumph: “For me, Rodri is the best player in the world, please give him the Ballon d’Or now.”

Earlier this year, during an episode of The Rest is Football podcast, hosts Micah Richards and Alan Shearer both agreed that Rodri is the world’s current best player.

“It’s not even close,” said Richards. “Whether it’s on the ball, whether it’s in the mind, whether it’s his passing ability. He comes up with important goals, as well, and assists. It’s actually incredible what he’s doing.”

“He’s the best,” said Shearer. “No doubt.”

Unfortunately for Rodri, the Ballon d’Or is no longer voted for by players, but instead a panel of 100 journalists from around the world, each of whom represents one of FIFA’s top-ranked footballing nations.

Rodri will no doubt get Spain’s vote and Vinicius should get Brazil’s, while Bellingham may yet get England’s. But let’s hope the remainder of the nations can see sense and vote for the Spaniard.