“Rodri, to begin with, congratulations on your Ballon d’Or France Football. Last March, you explained to us your pride in having finished fifth in the previous election. Seven months later, the verdict has spoken: you are the best. What do you feel?
It was already huge to have been in the previous list and to finish fifth, it was my first ceremony and I thought it might be the only one. Because the season had been almost perfect, I had won everything or almost (Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup), and, in these cases, we can say that it was the absolute season of a career. Because I know what it took of me to reach such a level and, inevitably, we wonder if we can really do it again. This season, I continued at the same pace, with even more impact in the final third (12 goals and 14 assists in all competitions, compared to 4 and 9 in 2022-2023) losing only one match (against Manchester United 1-2, in the Cup final but elimination on penalties against Real Madrid in C1, 3-3, 1-1 after, 3-4 on the tab). At the end of the Euro, with Spain's victory and the title of best player of the tournament, I only told myself that I had proven that I could repeat seasons at a very high level. And today, to have been chosen among all these immense players, it's something incredible.
