Rodri’s surprise win at the Ballon d’Or ceremony in October reminded us of a more straightforward time in football. It wasn’t just the identity of France Football’s choice for the award – a Manchester City midfielder instead of Vinicius Jr, the golden boy from Real Madrid – that caused eyebrows to raise and brows to furrow, but also the type of player the judges had ultimately voted for. In the history of the Ballon d’Or, defensive midfielders have rarely ever been that guy.
Trawl through the list of winners and only the Dukla Prague midfielder Josef Masopust strikes you as someone who might be considered Rodri’s early-day equivalent, but even the Czech had moved to centre-half by the time he reached the World Cup final in 1962 and subsequently won that year’s award, ahead of Eusebio in second place.
Rodri’s triumph this year was underscored by his brilliant performances for Spain in winning Euro 2024 but also for his role in City’s fourth successive Premier League title. It would be unfair to call him a system player; he is less flashy than Vinicius but every bit as transformative as the Brazilian – just in a different way…