"He will win it very soon" - Rodri tags Yamal as future Ballon d'Or winner

Midfielder Rodri, winner of the Ballon d'Or 2024, said that the award is “a reward for all Spanish football” and remembered “so many Spaniards who have not won it and deserved it”, among whom he cited Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta and Sergio Busquets.
The City and Spain national team player also remembered Daniel Carvajal, who he said “deserved it as much” as he did, and Lamine Yamal: “He will win it very soon, keep working hard, you have everything ahead of you”.
Rodrigo Hernandez 'Rodri', who took the stage on crutches to collect the trophy due to his recent ligament and meniscus injury, said it was “a special day, not only for me, but also for my family and my country”.
“Today Spanish football has won, and it is a source of pride for the midfield, a role that often goes unnoticed,” he added.
Brazil's Vinicius (second) and England's Jude Bellingham (third), both of Real Madrid, completed the podium for the trophy, which was presented by Liberian George Weah, Ballon d'Or winner in 1995. With this award, Rodri becomes the second Spaniard in history to win the Ballon d'Or, after Luis Suarez won it in 1960.
Rodri, 28, was last season a key player in the European champion Spanish national team and in Manchester City, a team with which he has won four consecutive Premier League titles.
“I give visibility to the midfielders who sometimes have a shady job and sometimes it comes to light,” he stressed.
The flamboyant Ballon d'Or defined himself as a “normal” and “quiet” person, who does not spend much time on social networks, and who likes to be with his family.
He thanked those who voted for him and his teammates at City, but also “my national team, Luis (de la Fuente), my teammates with whom we won the European Championship”.
He also emotionally recalled his beginnings, with the support of his family and his agent, amid doubts about whether he would make it in professional football.
With this triumph, Rodri is the first Manchester City player to win the Ballon d'Or, after teammates Kevin de Bruyne and Erling Haaland took the podium in previous years, as third and second respectively.