Chelsea and Spain international Marc Cucurella recently shared his views on the Ballon d’Or outcome, which saw Manchester City’s Rodri clinch the prestigious award.
Rodri’s win makes him the first traditional defensive midfielder to claim the Ballon d’Or since Lothar Matthaus in 1990, surpassing top competitors like Vinicius Jr. and Dani Carvajal from Real Madrid. Rodri’s success, however, sparked significant backlash from Real Madrid, which led the club to boycott the ceremony, despite winning multiple awards that night, including Carlo Ancelotti being named Coach of the Year.
Yet, for many in the football world, Rodri’s win was well-deserved. The Manchester City midfielder played a key role in both Premier League and European Championship victories for Spain.
In a recent interview with Onda Cero’s Radioestadio Noche, Cucurella voiced his support, saying, “My Ballon d’Or votes would have been: Rodri, [Dani] Carvajal, and Vinicius. People don’t know what he has until he’s not there and you start training with Rodri and he controls everything.”
Explaining his reasoning and pointing out City’s current struggles, Cucurella added, “Now Manchester City don’t have him and they keep losing.”
Indeed, Manchester City is in a rough patch, with recent losses across the Carabao Cup, Champions League, and Premier League. Many attribute City’s difficulties to injuries, while others, like Cucurella, believe Rodri’s absence is having an even greater impact.
Pep Guardiola has tried addressing this issue by using Ilkay Gundogan and Mateo Kovacic in the defensive midfield position, but with mixed results.
The Premier League champions will return to action after the international break with a crucial match against Tottenham at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, November 23, aiming to turn around their form.
