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After Euro 2024, the atmosphere of anticipating the Ballon d'Or is completely changing.
Spain beat England 2-1 in the Euro 2024 final at Olympia Stadion Berlin in Berlin, Germany on the 15th (Korea time).
In the final, Rodri, Spain's key midfielder, was replaced after only the first half due to injury. In the absence of Rodri, Spain's most important player, Spain won the championship. As Rodri faced injury variables in the final, it looked like the MVP of the tournament would be headed to Dani Olmona Ramin Yamal.
Without a twist, Rodri won the Euro MVP. Rodri is an indispensable player in Spain's winning process. This is because he is a player who assembles the soccer that Spanish coach De La Fuente wants from the center.
There is no doubt about his ability. Rodri was already being evaluated as a world class before the 2022-2023 season, but his skills improved further from the 2022-2023 season. It is no exaggeration to say that no player has performed better than Rodri in the last two years. It is by far overwhelming in the central midfielder position.
Thanks to Rodri's growth as a flawless complete body, Manchester City could become the complete European powerhouse. He achieved the first treble in the club's history by winning the English Premier League (EPL), the English FA Cup, and the European Champions League (UCL). Last season, Rodri was more important than Elling Holan and Kevin De Bruyne in Manchester City.
But Rodri was always neglected. Until now, he has emerged as a central midfielder representing the 2020s, and his skills have been recognized by everyone, but he has always been pushed out of individual awards. He was the best central midfielder in the EPL last season, but he was excluded from this year's team.
Despite being one of the core of Manchester City's treble, it was also excluded from the World's Best Eleven selected by FIFA and FIFPro in the 2022-2023 season, which became a huge controversy.
Through this Euro tournament, Rodri once again imprinted that he is the best midfielder in the world. Rodri is also the first player to be named the best player in a major tournament.
As Rodri became the Euro MVP, a four-way race against the Ballon d'Or could take place. The original leading candidates were Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe.
If any of the three players had won the Continental Cup, which took place this summer, it was very likely that they would take the Ballon d'Or. However, Bellingham, Mbappe and Vinicius all failed to perform as ace representing their country. While the evaluation of the three players has fallen in common, their eyes on Rodri have improved very much.
Goal, a soccer media outlet, updated its Ballon d'Or power ranking on the 15th. Rodri, who was fourth in the power rankings before the final, rose to first place at once. The media reported that Rodri remains the best defensive midfielder in the world, and that the Spanish international even has the ability to score crucial goals and help means that he is catching the eye of more fans and Ballon d'Or voters.
Attention is also focusing on whether Rodri will create the first Ballon d'Or player from EPL since Cristiano Ronaldo. Since Ronaldo won the Ballon d'Or in 2008 for Manchester United, there has been no Ballon d'Or player from the EPL.
rlaeotlr2024@sportschosun.com
