Manchester City head coach Pep Guardiola has already named two players he thinks should’ve won the Ballon d’Or but never did.
Guardiola, 54, has managed some of the greatest players to have played the game. At Barcelona, it was Lionel Messi, Xavi and Andres Iniesta.
While at Bayern Munich, he had the pleasure of working with Robert Lewandowski.
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At Manchester City, the likes of Sergio Aguero, Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland have helped his side to multiple successes.
But the latest player to win the Ballon d’Or under the guidance of Guardiola is midfielder Rodri, who picked up the 2024 edition of the gong, much to the surprise of Real Madrid and Vinicius Jr.
When speaking in the days after Rodri was awarded the accolade, Guardiola named two players he felt deserved to win the prize but never did during their careers.
“Messi, nobody could beat him,” said Guardiola in October 2024.
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"Just Cristiano. Cristiano was a monster, and the father of the monster is Messi. And both have done something incredible in the last 15 or 20 years."
Between them, Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo boast 13 Ballon d’Or crowns – Messi has eight while Ronaldo has five – which they won between 2008 and 2023, with just Luka Modric, in 2018, and Karim Benzema, in 2022, breaking their period of dominance.
“And maybe in that moment, Xavi and Iniesta deserved the Ballon d’Or as well," he added.
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"So I think Rodri, yesterday, got what Spanish football deserved worldwide.”
He continued: "Vinicius should've won the [2024] Ballon d'Or? Maybe, but it's what happened. It's journalists, it's not a group of elite people that decide what they have to do.
"It's all around the world, it's not just one country that votes."
Spain boasts three Ballon d’Or winners – Rodri, Luis Suarez and Alfredo Di Stefano.
Zinedine Zidane on player who deserved Ballon d'Or
Speaking in 2018, Zidane explained how he felt Iniesta deserved to the win 2010 edition of the award.
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“I admired his [Iniesta's] style of play, and he never won a Ballon d’Or, but he deserved one," said Zidane. "He should have won it the year he won the World Cup. He had an exceptional year, won the World Cup, and scored the goal in the final. It’s obvious he deserved it."
Topics: Pep Guardiola, Ballon d'Or, Football, Lionel Messi, Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Rodri
Luke Davies