Who was Spain’s only other Ballon d’Or winner before Rodri? (1:17)
Ballon d’Or 2024 winner Rodri talks about Spain’s only other previous winner, Luis Suarez. (1:17)
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ESPN
Oct 28, 2024, 05:44 PM ET
Manchester City midfielder Rodri has been awarded the Ballon d’Or after a stellar season that saw him pick up silverware with both club and country.
Rodri was handed the award at a ceremony in Paris on Monday, organised by the French magazine France Football in collaboration with UEFA.
“A very special day, for me, my family and my country,” Rodri said.
“I understand that because I have no social media, people don’t know me much. I am just a normal guy. I enjoy the sport, I enjoy my profession. And I try to be a good person. I am a very calm person.”
The 28-year-old won his fourth straight Premier League with City in May as Pep Guardiola’s side held off Arsenal‘s challenge, winning their last nine games to clinch the title. He is the first player from England’s top tier to be crowned since Cristiano Ronaldo won in 2008 during his first stint with Manchester United.
Rodri’s stiffest competition for the Ballon d’Or came from Madrid’s Vinícius Júnior, who refused to travel to Paris for the ceremony after discovering that he would not take home the trophy. Jude Bellingham finished third in the voting.
Vinícius, 24, had been a leading contender to win the 2024 men’s prize after leading Madrid to a LaLiga and Champions League double last season, but sources told ESPN earlier on Monday that neither he nor his fellow Madrid nominees — eight in total across the various awards — would attend the event.
Madrid had been honoured earlier in the ceremony as the men’s team of the year, and Carlo Ancelotti received the coach of the year award, though no representatives of the last Champions League winners were present to accept it.
Rodri was part of the Spain team that won Euro 2024, starting every game except the third group stage match against Albania, and claimed the player of the tournament prize.
He went a world-record 74 games unbeaten for club and country from March 2023 to May 2024, avoiding defeat (other than via penalties) until City’s loss to Manchester United in the FA Cup final.
Rodri becomes the second male player born in Spain to win the sport’s most prestigious individual prize, and the first since former Barcelona star Luis Suárez claimed it in 1960.
Real Madrid‘s legendary striker Alfredo di Stefano won the award twice, in 1957 and 1959, though he was born in Argentina. The past four Ballons d’Or Féminin have been won by Spanish women (Alexia Putellas in 2021 and 2022 and Aitana Bonmatí in 2023 and 2024).
Rodri is likely to miss the rest of the 2024-25 campaign after sustaining an anterior cruciate ligament injury during City’s 2-2 draw with Arsenal on Sept. 22. He collected the prize on crutches on Monday.
That knee injury came just days after he said at a news conference that players could go on strike in response to the ever-growing number of games in the football calendar.
“I am just trying to take care of myself. Rest, enjoy the free time with my family and come back stronger,” Rodri said when asked about his recovery.
Earlier in Paris, Barcelona‘s Lamine Yamal won the Kopa Trophy for best under-21 player over the previous season, while Aitana Bonmatí claimed her second consecutive Ballon d’Or Féminin.
Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappé shared the Gerd Müller trophy for most goals in the season, while Aston Villa and Argentina stopper Emiliano Martínez retained the prize for best goalkeeper in the world following his country’s Copa América title.
