Last week, on a historic night in Paris, Manchester City and Spain star Rodri has won the 2024 Ballon D’Or, the prize awarded to the best footballer of the year.
The holding midfielder is the first Spaniard to win the award since 1960 and the first Premier League player to win the title since Cristiano Ronaldo in 2008. CR7 and Lionel Messi have dominated the Ballon D’Or over the past two decades winning 13 awards (eight for Messi and five for Ronaldo) while creative midfielder Luka Modric in 2018, and striker Karim Benzema in 2022, have both weighed in with one win.
Rodri only missed one game last season as Manchester City won a historic fourth Premier League title on the run and he was named the Player of the Tournament at Euro 2024 as La Roja won their European crown. He is the first City player ever to win the Ballon D’Or while Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham became the first English player to make the top three since Frank Lampard back in 2005.
In my SBOTOP preview if this year’s awards I tipped Rodri as a potential winner though there were plenty of backers for Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior too. The Brazil forward has continued to make spectacular La Liga 2024 highlights but he was judged to be second best to the City man. And apparently that didn’t go down well with Los Blancos who were reported to be boycotting the ceremony in protest, but then Real Madrid have never really been good losers!
Rodri’s win proved that a team player can win the Ballon D’Or again and his defensive brilliance combined with creative vision made him the first deep lying player since Fabio Cannavaro won the title in 2006 after Italy won the World Cup. But the City man will not be in the running next year after he suffered an ACL injury early in the 2024/25 English top flight campaign and Vinicius has been installed as the early favourite. The Premier League 2024 betting odds back a Manchester City title again this year but the absence of Rodri has given the Sky Blues’ rivals a glimmer of hope.
He won’t be happy but at least he will be able to reflect on his pioneering achievement. His club boss Pep Guardiola emphasised just how big Rodri’s win was when he said that players like Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland will always grab the headlines, saying: “If holding midfielders start getting the recognition we would have a problem. The holding midfielder has to think for the rest of the team and not expect the recognition.”
And Pep’s words ring true when you consider that only Cannavaro and Germany’s Matthias Sammer (in 1996) were the only non forwards to win the award over the past three decades. In Paris and on crutches Rodri was understandably delighted, saying: “A very special day for me, my family and my country. Today is not a victory for me it is for Spanish football, for so many players who have not won it and deserved it, like Andres Iniesta, Xavi and Sergio Busquets.”
When you look at that list Rodri certainly has a point.
A new generation of holding midfielders
Rodri’s success gives rare recognition to defensive midfielders, the hard men, the metronomes, the box to box workers and the guys who break up opposition play. These ‘Number Sixes’ can dictate the pace of play and are often undervalued, though usually one of the first names on the team sheet. And there are a clutch of these players who can get themselves in the frame in the coming years.
20 year old Paris Saint-Germain star Joao Neves is one of the brightest talents in European football, and he has an old head on young shoulders as a defensive midfielder. He does have attacking flair and quick feet but Neves can be relied on to battle for the midfield territory. And Spain have another star who can slot into this role as Martin Zubimendi showed so well when he came on for the injured Rodri half way through the European final. The Real Sociedad player fit into the Roja midfied seamlessly; and the Basque star has stayed in San Sebastian despite interest from Europe’s top clubs.
France star Eduardo Camavinga is already an established defensive midfielder at the age of 21. He has won two Champions League titles with Real Madrid and two La Liga medals, while making 23 appearances for Les Bleus. His technical ability and physical strength make Camavinga a formidable opponent in the centre of the park while, back in the Premier League Arsenal’s Declan Rice is emerging as one of the most influential players in England for club and country. He can play further forward but his strong running and superb vision make Rice the ideal pivot for an Arsenal team packed with attacking players.
Maybe Rodri is ushering a new era of recognition for the quarterbacks of soccer and we could see another Ballon D’Or winner from this group before too long.
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