Rodri, king of the engine room, wins Ballon d’Or

On a night when Real Madrid chose to boycott the ceremony, Rodri, of Spain and Manchester City, winning the Ballon d’Or carved a new path of inspiration for midfielders.

Under Pep Guardiola, Manchester City formed a team of champions, culminating in a historic treble in the 2022–23 season. One of the most consistent players on that team was Rodri. | Photo Credit: AFP

For the last 18 years, the Ballon d’Or has mainly gone to forwards, as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo battled for the top honours. Goals, hat-tricks, and assists became synonymous with the illustrious Golden Ball.

This year, yet another forward, Vinicius Junior, was tipped for the award, but the votes defied expectations as the Brazilian ultimately had to contend with second place.

Instead, Rodrigo Hernandez — known globally as Rodri — claimed the men’s Ballon d’Or, becoming only the second defensive midfielder to win the trophy after Lothar Matthaus in 1990. The pernicious bias towards attacking players was finally broken.

Nine goals, 14 assists, and four major trophies for club and country in the 2023-24 season placed him at the top as the best player in the world.

Rodri with the Ballon d’Or trophy. | Photo Credit: AFP

As shouts in favour of Vinicius and hateful discontent for his loss echoed outside the venue in Paris, Rodri, in his speech, instead focused on love.

“Today is a special day, not just for me but for my family. First of all, I have to thank a very special person, my girlfriend Laura [Iglesias]; today is our eighth anniversary. Without her, things would not be the same,” he said.

Rodri underlined the legacy of Spanish midfielders who missed out on the trophy during the Messi-Ronaldo era.

“Today is not a victory for me; it is for Spanish football and for so many players who have not won it and have deserved it, like Iniesta, Xavi, Iker [Casillas], Sergio Busquets, and so many others. It is for Spanish football and the figure of the midfielder,” Rodri said.

Tiki-taka, Spain’s trademark style, was crafted in midfield, a tradition upheld by the likes of Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets, and passed to the next generation — the finest example being Manchester City’s Rodri.

While there are other Spanish players who have adopted the philosophy of Xavi and Iniesta, such as Pedri and Gavi, Rodri’s towering and physical presence became the key to ending Spain’s decade-long trophy drought.

Although coach Luis Enrique initially used him as a central defender, Rodri reached peak form as Spain’s midfield pivot, succeeding Busquets after his retirement.

His presence brought balance to Spain’s midfield, under head coach Luis de la Fuente, paving the path for Spain to secure its first major double — the UEFA Nations League and the 2024 European Championship — since its World Cup and Euro double in 2012.

Under Pep Guardiola, Manchester City formed a team of champions, culminating in a historic treble in the 2022–23 season. One of the most consistent players on that team was Rodri.

“Rodri is the best midfielder in the world right now. He’s unbelievable; he’s really able to do everything,“ Guardiola recently said in a press conference. “Remember — what we’ve done, without him… it would’ve been difficult.”

Positioned ahead of the back four, Rodri acted as a pivot and a convergence point for attacks, with Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin De Bruyne waiting for his passes in the final third. After Gundogan’s departure, Rodri also ventured into offensive positions, catching opponents off-guard since they rarely marked a defensive midfielder.

Perfect pivot: Rodri brought balance to Spain’s midfield. | Photo Credit: AFP

“I was a traditional midfielder, but I knew I needed to be better in the final third, so I worked on that. That’s the modern holding midfield role; you have to be like a striker because you play in the front,” Rodri said.

Last season, he set a Premier League record for the most successful passes across the pitch, with over 2,000 passes in the opponent’s half — another record.

In the UEFA Champions League last season, he employed line-breaking passes to counter opponents’ pressing tactics, making 100 such passes in the group stages alone — the most by any player that season.

On a night when Real Madrid chose to boycott the ceremony, Rodri’s win carved a new path of inspiration for midfielders — to play, strive, and ultimately find glory.

“I would like to tell you a story that led me here. When I was 17, I packed my suitcase to fulfil a dream. One day, I cried to my father, it’s all over, I invested my life to get here and that was it,” Rodri said.

“My father said, ‘We came all the way here, let’s keep going’. This is something that changed my mindset. I’m just a normal kid with values; I know what a hard worker is. Thank you very much.”