Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Jr warned Rodri is 'head and shoulders above them' in race for the Ballon d'Or as Man City legend explains why Spain star deserves 'best player in the world' tag

That battle appeared to be a two-way fight at one stage, with Bellingham and Vinicius helping Real Madrid to La Liga and Champions League titles in 2023-24. Neither, however, were able to claim international honours when representing England and Brazil respectively in European Championship and Copa America competition.

Rodri - who steered City to a fourth consecutive Premier League crown last season, a year on from savouring a historic Treble triumph – did inspire Spain to Euro 2024 glory. He is now very much in the Golden Ball picture, with one former City star considering the all-action midfielder to be deserving of the ‘best player in the world’ tag.

Quizzed on whether Rodri can upset the odds and walk away with the 2024 Ballon d’Or, ex-City striker Paul Dickov – speaking in association with William Hill – told GOAL: ”I think so. Not just last season, his performances over the last three or four seasons, he has by far been the best midfielder in that position in the world. Winning the Treble the season before last, four-in-a-row last year, winning the Euros with Spain – where he was arguably their best player. [Kylian] Mbappe, Vinicius Jr and Jude are always going to be up there in the mix, mainly because of the club that they are at. But I look at Rodri and don’t think there is a more deserved winner of the Ballon d’Or than he will be.”

Dickov – who remains a cult hero on the blue half of Manchester after featuring in back-to-back promotion-winning campaigns that lifted City out of the third tier of English football and into the Premier League – added on Rodri: “He’s not just a defensive midfielder now. If you look at Man City, how successful they are, you only have to take Rodri out of that team to see how much they struggle – and that’s with players like [Kevin] De Bruyne, [Phil] Foden, Bernardo Silva, [Erling] Haaland. All of these wonderful players that they have got in the team, if they are injured or suspended then there is like-for-like to come in and it doesn’t really effect the set-up of the team. But if you take Rodri out of the team, as we saw last season when he missed three or four games, City didn’t win. It just shows you what a huge influence he is. For me, I look around all these wonderful players that we have got in Europe, but Rodri is head and shoulders above them all.”

Rodri, who won the Player of the Tournament award at Euro 2024, is in the running to be named PFA Player of the Year – alongside club colleagues Haaland and Foden. They are all preparing to open another quest for Premier League title glory when taking in a trip to Chelsea on Sunday.