Pep Guardiola says Rodri’s Ballon d’Or success was reflective of Spanish football’s influence on the world game – and would have come sooner had it not been for ‘monster’ Cristiano Ronaldo and his ‘father’ Lionel Messi.
Manchester City midfielder Rodri was last night crowned the best player in the world – much to the annoyance of Real Madrid who boycotted the Paris ceremony in protest at Vinicius Jr being overlooked.
The award has previously been dominated by Messi and Ronaldo – the pair winning it 13 times in the past 15 years – and Guardiola felt that sometimes overshadowed the impact Spain has made on the global stage.
The Catalan said: “Rodri made an incredible speech. He spoke about family, Man City and Spanish football. In the last decade, Spanish football has made such a difference – they’ve won a World Cup, a Euros – and Spain were never able to win this award before.
“Their importance in the last 10 or 15 years has been so important. I remember once we nominated three players from La Masia. Xavi and Iniesta couldn’t win it because Messi’s a monster and nobody could beat him – just Cristiano [Ronaldo]. He’s a monster and the father of the monster is Messi.”
🗣️ “We are not hear to judge what the other clubs have to do”
Pep Guardiola congratulates Rodri on winning the Ballon D’or and gives his thoughts on Real Madrid boycotting the ceremony 🔵 pic.twitter.com/Z7OXh549YQ
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) October 29, 2024
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Guardiola won’t judge other clubs
Former Barcelona boss Guardiola refused to be drawn on Madrid’s decision not to travel en masse to France, but pointed out Erling Haaland could have won it last year before missing out to Messi.
“It’s up to them. If they want to congratulate, that’s fine. If not, that’s fine as well. At Manchester City, we are not here to judge other clubs on what they decide they have to do,” he added.
“Last season for example, Erling [Haaland] won the treble, scored more than 50 goals. I said to him ‘just being there, you have to be so happy’. I said the same to Rodri. If you are in the first two, three or four, it’s exceptional. You have to be so satisfied.
“Last season, should Erling have won? Yes. Should Messi have won? Yes. It’s not important. It represents that you and your team-mates have done something really nice that season.
“Should it be Vinicius? Maybe. It’s [voted by] journalists, you know, not an elite group of people who decide. It’s [people] all around the world that votes, not just one country. There are different opinions, and that’s what makes football nice, no
“I congratulate Carlo Ancelotti for winning the best manager in the world, but it was [Gian Piero] Gasperini or Luis de la Fuente. Of course they deserved it, but people voted and Carlo also deserved it.
“This event has to be a joy, people have to accept the results. As a club, we are so happy that Rodri is the first player in this club to win this award. It’s like [winning] the Premier League and Champions League. We are so proud.”
City proud of Rodri – Guardiola
Rodri will miss the rest of this season through injury but Guardiola admitted everyone at the Etihad was proud of his achievement.
He said: “What can I say? First, to congratulate him and all his family and their friends, it’s incredible news for him and for all of us.
“We could never have imagined this years ago, that one [City] player could receive this prestigious award. We are so delighted to share it with him and hopefully, it can give him energy to recover well for next season and be with us again.”
