- Spain rolled through Euro 2024 to win the tournament, with Rodri winning Player of the Tournament.
- The Manchester City midfielder has seen his odds to win the Ballon d’Or move from around +700, to +200 or below at some sportsbooks.
- The last time a defensive-minded player won this award was defender Fabio Cannavaro in 2006. No defensive midfielder has won since Matthias Sammer in 1996.
Spain was the class of Euro 2024, sweeping through their group with three wins. “La Roja” then dismissed Georgia, knocked out the hosts from Germany in extra time, and defeated France. Spain capped their tournament with a 2-1 win over England in the final in Berlin.
At the heart of Spain’s success was Rodri, the defensive midfielder who plays for Manchester City in the Premier League. The star was named Player of the Tournament, despite missing the second half of the final through injury.
Rodri has made a move up the Ballon d’Or odds after winning this prestigious award. He could realistically become the first defensive player to win the award in 18 years. Rodri claimed that Spain deserves a win for the award, although he didn’t specify for himself.
Rodri is the Heart of his Teams for Both Club and Country
The Ballon d’Or was first awarded by France Football, a magazine from France, in 1956. It’s generally regarded as the highest individual honor any player can receive in world soccer. The best of the best have won this award, led by Lionel Messi’s eight wins, while Cristiano Ronaldo has been nominated 18 times.
This award usually goes to a standout offensive player. That’s why at BetUS, Real Madrid wizard Vinícius Júnior is still favored at +125 by the top soccer betting sites.
However, Rodri has jumped past Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham in the odds, going from around +700 to +160, which is even lower than just two days ago, as illustrated by the above tweet from BetUS. He has moved into the status of favorite at other online sportsbooks.
However, you can’t deny Rodri’s resume. Let’s start at Manchester City, where the midfielder won the Premier League for a fourth time. He scored a career-high nine goals in 50 games across all competitions this season, and many of them came in pivotal moments. That’s a fantastic record for a defensive midfielder.
He scored in the final game of the season as City looked to hold off Arsenal’s title charge, which they did by two points. Rodri also won the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup with Manchester City. He has a streak of 50 unbeaten games in the Premier League. The last time Rodri lost an English league game was at Tottenham on February 5, 2023.
As for Spain, he played in all of their Euro 2024 qualifying games except one. He did the same at Euro 2024, and Rodri scored the equalizer in Spain’s 4-1 win over Georgia in the Round of 16. In fact, Spain looked vulnerable when Rodri was injured in the final, when he slid to block a goal-bound shot from England captain Harry Kane.
However, it’s deeper than the numbers with Rodri; you just have to watch him. Both Spain and Manchester City have only Rodri screening the defense, while many big teams play with two defensive midfielders.
Rodri effectively does the job of two players. Offensively, the 28-year-old might be the best player in the world at retaining the ball and getting it to more talented playmakers, while he is being pressed by the opposition.
Rodri is respected so much by his teammates that Spain captain Álvaro Morata wants to start an Instagram account for Rodri’s Ballon d’Or campaign.
Defensive-Minded Players Don’t Usually Win the Ballon d’Or
History seems to be against Rodri, as defensive players don’t usually win the Ballon d’Or. The last was Fabio Cannavaro in 2006, after the Italian defender led his country to a World Cup win. Before that, it was midfielder Matthias Sammer in 1996, when the German controversially eked out a win over Brazil’s Ronaldo by one point in the voting.
However, Rodri is generally known as the best midfielder in the world, and the straw that stirs the drink for a juggernaut like Manchester City and Spain. His importance to both teams cannot be questioned. Winning Player of the Tournament at a massive event like Euro 2024 should be what gets Rodri over the hump to win the Ballon d’Or.
