'The monster's father': Guardiola settles Ronaldo v Messi debate

The Ballon d'Or won by Rodri in 2024 will be talked about for a long time. Not because he didn't deserve it, but because of Real Madrid's approach when they found out that Vinicius wasn't going to be chosen as the best player in the world last season.
Pep Guardiola, who coaches Rodri at Manchester City, spoke about this and many other things related to the Ballon d'Or on Tuesday. "All Manchester City, our fans, we are so proud of him. We could never have imagined this years ago, that one [City] player could receive this prestigious award," he told reporters.
"We are so delighted to share it with him and hopefully, it can give him the energy to recover well for next season and be with us again," he added.
The news of Monday afternoon was undoubtedly Real Madrid's decision to stand up to the Ballon d'Or organisers after learning that Vinicius was not going to win, something Guardiola also spoke about in the pre-match press conference ahead of the Premier League encounter against Tottenham.
"It's up to them. If they want to congratulate him, 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.
"Last season, for example, Erling [Haaland] won the treble and 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. Last season, Erling should have won, yes. Should Messi have won? Yes. It doesn't matter," he claimed.
"You and your teammates have done something amazing. Should it be Vinicius? Maybe. It's not an elite group, it's journalists who vote. Rodri made an incredible speech, he spoke about family and Spanish football. In the last decade, Spanish football has made such a difference, won a World Cup, and Euros, and wasn't able to win this award," Guardiola went on to add.
"And I think Rodri represents perfectly, of course, City because we are so proud, but Spanish football – their influence in world football in the last 10, 15 years, it has been massively important.
"Not just winning trophies, the way they play, the generations of managers, generations of players. And I think maybe in that time I remember three players from the Barcelona Academy, La Masia, were nominated all three to win the Ballon d’Or, and Xavi and Iniesta could not win because there was a monster there."
Guardiola continued: “And Messi, nobody could beat him. Just Cristiano [Ronaldo]. Cristiano was a monster, and the monster's father was [Lionel] Messi. And both have done something incredible in the last 15, or 20 years.
"And maybe in that moment, Xavi and Iniesta deserved the Ballon d’Or as well. So I think Rodri yesterday got what Spanish football deserved worldwide," he concluded.