Newly named Ballon d'Or, Rodri remains fair play – which is also one of the conditions to claim this prestigious title. After the Citizen was named best player of the 2023-2024 season, Karim Benzema felt “sad” for his former teammate Vinicius. In an interview with France Football, KB9 had nice words for the Brazilian whom he considered the “most deserving.”
With only 41 points less than the Manchester City midfielder, the Seleçao dribbler certainly paid for sharing votes with Bellingham and Carvajal. But for Benzema, this “thrill player” side should have made the difference. “I have nothing against Rodri, who is a good player, but I'm on my sofa, I'm watching TV and Rodri doesn't do things that make me say: 'Pffff', whereas Vinicius did it more once,” he explained.
“Paul Scholes explains the opposite”
Asked to respond to this statement in an interview with France Football, Rodri respects the opinion of the former French international. “It’s his opinion, he has the right to think that. I can’t hope to please everyone either. I pleased a jury of a hundred voters, that’s already not bad,” he quips. he, before justifying its price. “Then I also heard Paul Scholes explain the opposite, that he found my game very beautiful and intelligent, and coming from such a midfielder, that means something to me.”
If the current player from Al-Ittihad (Saudi Arabia) called himself the “People's Golden Ball” in 2022, for the Spanish international, winner of the last Euro this summer, this time it is the “People's Ballon”. gold of football. During his speech, award in hand, on the Parisian stage on October 28, the former Atlético de Madrid player said that his friends affirmed “that football had won.”
Rodri therefore took advantage of this interview to justify himself: “It must be understood as: 'it is another aspect of football which has been rewarded'. It is perhaps not as spectacular as goals, percussions or one-on-ones But it's controlling the game for ninety minutes, being the guarantor of what the coach asks on the pitch, organizing the game by giving it personality…”
Original article published on RMC Sport
