SUMMARY
- Messi won his 8th Ballon d'Or in 2023, overshadowing three Manchester City players on the list.
- Manchester City midfielder Rodri is not impressed with the way the Ballon d'Or winner is picked.
Manchester City’s treble-winning season from last season has a lot to do with Erling Haaland’s hunger for goals and Kevin de Bruyne’s presence of mind. However, the dream season for Pep Guardiol’s men was far from reality, if not for Rodri’s presence in the heart of midfield.
The Spanish central defensive midfielder joined the Citizens from Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2019. After a couple of seasons that saw him in and out of the first team, Rodri’s breakthrough season came last season when he helped City win the UEFA Champions League. And his performance over the entirety of the season took the Spaniard to fifth place in the Ballon d’Or ranking, which Lionel Messi later won.
However, according to a recent revelation, Pep Guardiol’s star midfielder has not been very impressed by the way the winner of the Ballon d’Or got picked.
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Stating his dissatisfaction, Rodri said, “I am not surprised. This is normal. I understand very well how things work for these individual awards. They are based on marketing, money, and advertising. There have been midfielders before who were also Spanish who did not get what they deserved.”
“Do you understand what I mean? (Laughs). What ultimately matters to me in football is what I achieved collectively,” added the City midfielder.
Rodri’s comments serve as a gentle reminder of Manchester City’s dominance in the last season. Three players from Manchester City made it to the top five of the final Ballon d’Or ranking, only to lose to Lionel Messi.
Rodri reflects on his UEFA Champions League final goal.
It was one of those iconic moments for Rodri when his stunning strike went past Andre Onana and ended up in the back of the net. During a recent interview, the 27-year-old recalls the moment when his strike went on to be the deciding factor in the tie.
Rodri stated, “The first thing I thought was to shoot strong, and then I realized it would be my one chance at the game. I saw about eight players covering the goal, and I thought if I banged this ball, it would be easier for them. So I faked that I was going to shoot, and then I did, and, when it went in, I think I went on the fastest run of my life! Emotions, everything, came through.”
🚨 Rodri On Scoring In the #UCL Final
🗣️ Rodri: “Iniesta and Zizou, these kind of goals, moments, they will last for ever and I was so happy to live that,” he said. “When you score these sorts of goals, they are iconic moments and I could not be more proud.” #ManCity pic.twitter.com/nftFCKcscb
— Matty (@MattyBoi_78) February 12, 2024
The Spanish midfielder made mention of two iconic goals that he was able to relate to. Andres Iniesta’s winner for Spain in the 2010 World Cup Final and Zinedine Zidane’s spectacular goal for Real Madrid in the 2002 Champions League Final have caught the attention of Rodri.
Rodri’s influence on Manchester City’s treble-winning season
There are a handful of reasons to justify the statement when Pep Guardiola rated Rodri as the best defensive midfielder in the world. And the 27-year-old has proved it again and again through the entire 2022–23 season.
Rodri has maintained a consistent number of interceptions during games, which figures up to 4.3 per game. Improvements came along in his offensive duties, where his average shots per game rose from 0.5 to more than one shot on target.
Rodri must the most underrated player in premier league.
Unreal stats pic.twitter.com/ic4GC9BVQY— ¹⁶RR (@RodriRole1) February 6, 2024
Furthermore, his expected goals (xG) statistics indicate that he has improved in terms of both his shot-taking ability and his decision-making near the goal. In the Premier League matches of the 2022–23 season, he was able to accumulate 4.15 xG. This means that he not only took more shots on goal but also had a higher chance of scoring a goal.