Manchester City and Spain’s midfielder Rodri claimed the Ballon d’Or after winning the Premier League title with the club and the Euro 2024 with the country. Rodri received the prestigious award at a ceremony in Paris on Monday, organised by the French magazine France Football in collaboration with UEFA.

The Spaniard was delighted after he received the much-deserved award for his fine display in the last year. Rodri played 63 games for club and country in 2023/24 and lost only one of them: the FA Cup final against Manchester United.

“A very special day, for me, my family and my country,” Rodri said.

“I understand that because I have no social media, people don’t know me much. I am just a normal guy. I enjoy the sport, I enjoy my profession. And I try to be a good person. I am a very calm person.”

Meanwhile, Rodri becomes the second men’s player born in Spain to win the sport’s most prestigious individual prize, and the first since former Barcelona star Luis Suárez claimed it in 1960.

The talismanic midfielder feels it is a win for Spanish football.

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

“Today many friends have written to me and have told me that football has won, for giving visibility to so many midfielders who have a job in the shadows and today it is coming to light.”

Rodri is likely to miss the rest of the 2024-25 campaign after sustaining an ACL injury in a 2-2 draw against Arsenal earlier in the season.