Rodri became the first Manchester City player and only the third Spanish footballer to win the Ballon d’Or after he received the award at the Chatelet Theatre in Paris on Monday.
The midfielder most recently helped his country lift the 2024 European Championship after beating England in the final. Moreover, he has been an important part of Pep Guardiola’s City side, which won its fourth-consecutive Premier League title at the end of the 2023-24 season.
The last time a Spaniard won the Ballon d’Or was back in 1960 when Barcelona’s Luis Suarez - not to be confused with his Uruguayan namesake - won the award. The other Spanish player to have won the award is Real Madrid great Alfredo Di Stefano won it twice (1957, 1959).
Rodri’s win ended a 64-year wait for the Spanish fans to watch one of their own lift the prestigious award once again. The last time a Spaniard was present in the top three Ballon d’Or rankings was in 2012 when Barcelona legend Andres Iniesta finished third behind that year’s winner Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
List of Spanish players to win Ballon d’Or
Rodri (Manchester City) - 2024
Luis Suarez (Barcelona) - 1960
Alfredo Di Stefano (Real Madrid) - 1957, 1959
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