Rodri winning the 2024 Ballon d'Or might have come as a surprise, but the midfielder has the stats and trophy cabinet to back up his victory.
Rodri and Real Madrid's Vinícius Júnior were the two favorites to take home soccer's most prestigious individual award, and the voters ultimately went with the Manchester City man. It is no secret that Rodri is the best defensive midfielder in the world and he proved just how integral he is for both club and country in 2023–24.
The Spaniard won three trophies with the Citizens, including a fourth consecutive Premier League title, the UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup. He then went on to win Euro 2024 with Spain.
Even more impressive than Rodri's silverware, though, were his statistics throughout last year. He made 63 appearances for both club and country, bagging 12 goals and 15 assists along the way. In total, he created 114 chances for his teammates on both City and Spain.
Rodri's defensive efforts are harder to measure, yet when he was on the pitch for City last season, the team held its opposition to an average of 0.9 goals per game. Without Rodri, the average jumped up to 1.3 goals per game.
Such numbers would be common for the best defenders in the world, but Rodri was also pitching in on the attack; City scored an average of 2.7 goals per game as opposed to just 1.4 when it was without the Spaniard.
