Rodri, the winner of the 2024 Ballon d'Or, has revealed a shortlist of six players he is backing to compete for the award in the 2026 edition.
Rodri returned to the list of nominees for the 2026 Ballon d'Or after being crowned World Cup champion and claiming the tournament's best player award, making him one of the most prominent names in the running. His personal list, though, held a few surprises, with some notable names left out.
Speaking to the programme "Partizado de COPE", Rodri said he hoped one of the Spanish players would land the award, and he named six players he believes each have strong claims to win.
As reported by the French network RMC , Rodri said: "What I really hope is that a Spanish player wins it. There are six of us: Cucurella, Cubarsi, Rodri, Ruiz, Yamal, Torres."
He added: "I can tell you that each of them truly deserves the Ballon d'Or. I think all my teammates have strong arguments. Fabian Ruiz is the one who won the most titles, and Cubarsi, considering what he has achieved at just nineteen, and Ferran scored the decisive goal, while I won the tournament's best player award, and Lamine... astonishing."
He then continued, asking: "Don't you think they all genuinely have real arguments?"
Rodri leaves out Mbappé, Dembélé and Kvara
For all his talk of six names, Rodri overlooked a number of the most prominent nominees tipped for the Ballon d'Or, foremost among them Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé, Harry Kane, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Lionel Messi.
The Barcelona player said: "Don't you think they all have real arguments to present? But in the end there will be only one winner. And fortunately, I'm not the one who votes!"
Rodri also made clear he understands the media campaign being pushed by Mbappé and Lamine Yamal to win the award, saying: "I see it as a wonderful thing that they believe they are the best in the world."
Raphinha out of the list
Rodri also voiced his astonishment at the absence of his Barcelona teammate Raphinha from the thirty-man shortlist for the Ballon d'Or.
He said of the Brazilian star: "He is the player who surprised me more than anyone else by a large margin."
He added: "I said to him: wait, weren't you playing at Leeds on the wing, cutting inside and scoring a goal from time to time? And now you play as an out-and-out forward, this is beyond my ability to comprehend. I don't understand how your name isn't among the top 30 players in the Ballon d'Or."
Rodri confirms his attendance at the Ballon d'Or ceremony
Rodri confirmed he will attend the Ballon d'Or awards ceremony, set for London on 26 October, in the hope of another surprise.
He said: "Yes, I'll be there, I'll go no matter what happens. Even on the day of the Ballon d'Or, I thought they wouldn't give me the award, but I attended."
Real Madrid had boycotted the 2024 Ballon d'Or ceremony after learning the award would not go to their Brazilian player Vinícius Júnior. Rodri ultimately walked off with the prize.
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