A frontrunner who puts the team first
Rodri is among the leading candidates for the Ballon d’Or, which will be handed out in London on 26 October. The midfielder, named best player at the last World Cup, left Manchester City to join Barcelona this summer. It puts him in a strong spot to talk about the prize. Even so, he has chosen not to make the case for himself first.
Asked to name his favourites, Rodri points to his Spain team-mates who won the World Cup. He singles out Cucurella, who was rock solid throughout the tournament. He then highlights Cubarsi, only 19, already making his mark at the top level. He also references his own run, crowned with the tournament’s best-player award. Then comes Fabian Ruiz, the most decorated player in the group this season, followed by Ferran Torres, scorer of a decisive goal during the World Cup. He finishes with Lamine Yamal, whom he simply calls “incredible”.
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A shortlist he still respects
Rodri is not dismissing the rest of the field, though. He accepts the case for Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Harry Kane and Lionel Messi, all of them named among the 30 official nominees for this year’s award.
One omission does stand out to him. Raphinha is nowhere to be seen in that list of 30. Rodri says he is genuinely baffled. “He’s the player who surprised me most, by a distance,” he says, pointing to the gap between the Brazilian winger’s season and his absence from the final selection.
A case being made with the ceremony a month away
With the ceremony now just a month away, the noise is growing. Rodri’s view carries real weight. Best player at the World Cup and right in the middle of the race, he knows exactly what it takes to be in the conversation for the trophy. His backing for the Spain group only confirms one thing: the World Cup winners have cleaned up in this list of 30 nominees.
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