On the night of Monday, October 28, 2024, Spanish and Manchester City FC of England midfielder Rodri Hernandez made history by becoming the first Spanish player to win the Ballon d’Or in 64 years.

The last Spanish player to win the award was Luis Suarez in 1960. Rodri also became only the third Spanish player to win the award after Alfredo Di Stefano (1957 and 1959) and Luis Suarez (1960).

En route to winning the highly coveted men’s award, Rodri played a key part in Manchester City’s 2023/24 English Premier League triumph as well as the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup.

He went on to be pivotal in Spain’s UEFA EURO 2024 win before suffering an ACL tear in the 2024/25 season that has seen him ruled out of the current campaign.

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Rodri is also the first defensive midfielder to win the award in 34 years, since German football legend Lothar Matthaus won it in 1990.

He beat off competition from Real Madrid and Brazilian forward Vinicius Junior, who won the Spanish Super Cup, the Spanish La Liga, and the UEFA Champions League, and English midfielder Jude Bellingham, who also won the same titles as Vinicius in the previous season with Real Madrid.

The last midfielder to win the award before Rodri is Croatian and Real Madrid star Luka Modric in 2018.

“A very special day, for me, my family, and my country,” a very excited Rodri said.

“I try to improve every day; try to level up my game.”