Rodri exclusive: Ballon d'Or nod 'already a victory' – Manchester City star on restoring glamour to defensive midfield
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Published 18/09/2024 at 09:17 GMT
Rodri sees his Ballon d'Or nomination as a victory in itself, highlighting the newfound appreciation for defensive roles in football. Fresh from another superb season with club and country, even if his 475-day unbeaten streak with Manchester City finally came to an end, Rodri is gearing up for another tilt at the UEFA Champions League as his side seek to reclaim the title they won in 2023.
Rodri.
Image credit: Getty Images
Manchester City star Rodri says it's "already a victory" that he is being touted as a potential Ballon d'Or winner as he revelled in gaining recognition as a defensive midfielder.
Rodri is among the favourites for football's top individual gong after another stellar campaign yielded a fourth successive Premier League title and a Euro 2024 triumph with Spain.
Speaking to TNT Sports ahead of City's return to the UEFA Champions League against Internazionale on Wednesday – available to stream live on discovery+ – Rodri revealed his hopes for a Spanish player to win the Ballon d'Or after their golden summer.
Given he was named Player of the Tournament in Germany, the 28-year-old is the most obvious candidate.
"It is great to be there with these players. It is great that the people value your performance and your talent," Rodri said.
"For me, it's already a victory what the people say about me, the recognition I have.
"It's not something that has pushed me, individual awards. It's just a consequence of the work. But I think it would be great for my country.
"We have just won [the Euros], we have some of the best players ever, and we have the best football. It would be good – not just for me, I would say for any Spanish player – for the country."
Rodri is believed to be one of the favourites for the Ballon d'Or alongside Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior.
He saw an incredible 74-game unbeaten streak in a City shirt finally snapped in the FA Cup final defeat to Manchester United in May, but returned to winning ways in his first outing of the new season against Brentford last week.
On putting the "glamour" back into defensive midfield, he continued: "I understand how football works, but football can be beautiful from many views. It can be beautiful from the view of a midfielder, of a centre-back, of a keeper, of a striker.
"But it's good that the people are already getting the value of what you do. Let's see what happens. I hope I can win, or a Spanish guy can win. It would be great."
Spain only boast two winners of the Ballon d'Or in history – and none since Luis Suarez won it in 1960.
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, who have claimed 13 of the last 15 gongs between them, are both missing from the nominations for the first time since 2003.
'I don't know anyone that has won without losing first'
City begin their quest for a second Champions League title with a tricky test against Serie A giants Internazionale in a repeat of the 2023 final.
Rodri scored the only goal that night in Istanbul to end City's wait for Europe's biggest prize and seal a stunning Treble.
"I've watched back the game two, three times, I don't know how many clips I've seen," he said.
"It was a dream come true, it was something that I will remember forever and be proud of all my life. It was a great feeling, it was a tough night, but at the end it was recompense for lots of years working for that. Great memories."
But the Spaniard insisted that despite City's dominance in recent years, their rise to the European summit was partly made possible by their harrowing defeat to Premier League rivals Chelsea in the 2021 final.
"I've always said that I don't know anyone that has won without losing first. No one wants to lose, but it's the moment that you learn the most," he said.
"We took that final to learn, we were ready to win it. We didn't win it but we were ready. We just had to keep working and analyse what happened – and this is what happened the next years, and we were able to win it.
"And now we have the experience of both, we know exactly what we have to do to win it. Even though it's going to be so, so tough because there is only one winner."
TNT Sports will show over 500 matches from the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Conference League across the 2024-25 season. The streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+, where fans can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports, Eurosport and entertainment in one destination.
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