Manchester City and Spain international, Rodri clinches on to the best payer award as ranked by the most revered individual award scheme, Ballon D’or.
The defensive-midfield role in modern day football has been redefined by Rodrigo Hernandez Cascante; his performance for both his club and country has been very prodigious and nothing short of pure class and excellence from a player.
In the 2023/24 footballing season, Manchester City’s Rodri played a total of 2,938 which is equivalent to 34 matches in the English premier league while he featured in all the UEFA Champions League games plus 4 games in the English FA Cup, 2 games in the FIFA Club World Cup, 1 game in the UEFA Super Cup, and a game in the Community Shield for his club last season.
At the end of the 2024 season, Rodri made fifty appearances, scoring nine goals and providing fourteen assists to his teammates which is an impressive statistics for a defensive-midfielder.
Following his phenomenal performances for his club, Manchester City won the English premier league for the fourth consecutive time including the FIFA Club World Cup, and the UEFA Super Cup.
Meanwhile, statistics further indicated, the Spanish national team which he is an integral member have failed to be cracked down by any other national team in all their international friendlies, qualifying matches and tournaments itself in 2024.
Further, the Spain national was the only team that failed to bag any defeat in the 2024 UEFA nations competition which hosted by Germany as they completely dismantled the three lions of England in a mouth watering fashion during the finale to secure the trophy for Spain.
After Rodri’s exploits in the Spain national team and for his club, Manchester City, the Ballon D’or as an awards scheme which is meant to honor the most outstanding and impactful player in a team have announced the wonder boy, Rodri as the men’s best player for 2024.
Rodri being named the men’s Ballon D’or winner has unseated Manchester United’s legend, Christiano Ronaldo, who was the last player to win the award as a player in the English premier league.
However, the Rodri has also become the first ever defensive midfielder to win the Ballon D’or after Lothar Mattaus in the year, 1990. He joined the short list of Spaniards who have won the award; he is the third citizen of Spain to secure the Ballon D’or.
Rodrigo Hernandez Cascante after being crowned the winner of the men’s best player iterated as his acceptance speech, “I try to say to the kids, you don’t need to be crazy… you can be a normal guy. Try to do your best. And I would like to thank God, because with these values, with this perseverance, at the end it gives you back.”
Real Madrid’s Vinicius JR, Jude Bellingham, and Dani Carvajal occupied the second, third, and fourth positions respectively as Manchester City’s danger man, Erling Haaland was named as the fifth best player in the world.