Previously, it could be stated that even some of the best players to have ever graced Manchester City did not win a Ballon d’Or due to multiple reasons.
Firstly, City had not win the Champions League until last year — a competition that seems to have a huge bearing on which players win the award.
Secondly, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo’s dominance over the award played a key role in other players not winning it; as the pair simply set standards other players did not.
In the 2022/2023 season when Manchester City finally won the Champions League under Pep Guardiola — Messi still managed to take home the award — as his World Cup triumph with Argentine was viewed as the biggest story in football during the calendar.
But with both the Argentine and Ronaldo no longer playing in Europe, other players finally have a chance of lifting the Ballon d’Or.
As a result, the race for the prestigious award seems quite open.
In the past, it seemed like Messi and Ronaldo would be guaranteed to be in the top three candidates to win the award alongside another player.
Shearer makes Rodri Ballon d’Or prediction
But things have certainly changed when it comes to the award and European football as a whole since Messi signed for Inter Miami and Ronaldo headed to Al-Nassr.
Ruben Dias chimed in on Rodri’s Ballon d’Or prospects and claimed that him winning the Premier League with Manchester City and Euro 2024 with Spain could give him a strong chance to win the accolade.
Paul Merson claimed Rodri is “world-class” because unlike several other players, he can get into any team in world football; the sign of a stalwart who is well and truly amongst the upper echelon amongst world football.
Rodri seems like the standout candidate to win the award at Manchester City — considering Erling Haaland’s Norway side did not qualify for the European Championship with Phil Foden’s England lost in the final.
Pep Guardiola stated Rodri deserves to win the Ballon d’Or but so do some of the other best players in the world.
The £62.5 million man has won certain individual awards in the past, such as the 2022/2023 UEFA Champions League Player of the Season, the Euro 2024 Player of the Tournament and the UEFA Nations League Finals Player of the Tournament.
Alan Shearer, Micah Richards and Gary Lineker all named Rodri as the player who deserves to win the Ballon d’Or on The Rest Is Football podcast.
Richards said: “Quick answer? Rodri! We all agree on Rodri, do we?”
Alan Shearer replied: “Yeah.”
Gary Lineker said: “Oh yeah, I do.”
Micah Richards named other potential candidates: “Vinicius Junior, [Jude] Bellingham, if Bellingham would have won the Euros with England, he was a big shout, wasn’t he, a big possibility. It’s hard, isn’t it?”
Alan Shearer said: “There’s only one player winning it.”
Gary Lineker added: “I think so as well. I really do”
Shearer stated: “It can only be him.”
Micah Richards asked Alan Shearer: “Do you think he should win it or he is going to win it? It’s two different things.”
Shearer claimed that not only should Rodri win the Ballon d’Or but he predicts him to as well, replying: “No, both.”
Lineker also said: “Both.”
“I think Rodri deserves it. Obviously, they didn’t win the Champions League, City but they did win the league and the Euros with Spain where he was very much their leader.”
Alan Shearer, Micah Richards and Gary Lineker backing Rodri says something
The fact that all of Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker both think Rodri should and will win the Ballon d’Or but Micah Richards also picked him as the man to take home the award suggests the potential general consensus.
While there will be fans and pundits alike that consider other players to either be more deserving or likely to win the award, three prominent voices in football have sided with the Spaniard.
Defensive midfielders like Rodri tend not to be fancied for the Ballon d’Or but it seems like he has the public sentiment pushing him towards making history.
As Gary Lineker stated, while the 28-year-old did not win the Champions League unlike Real Madrid’s potential candidates, he was one of Spain’s main men as they won Euro 2024.
Rodri’s legacy, both in the Premier League and across world football could hit new heights if he wins the Ballon d’Or — with midfield greats like Kevin De Bruyne, Andres Iniesta, Xavi Hernandez and Toni Kroos also having not taken home the accolade.
