How do you improve once you have won the Ballon d’Or?
Unless you're Lionel Messi, the only way is down after you've been named the best player in the world.
There is one other option though. You get injured. Yeah, it isn’t for the faint hearted.
Rodri’s stock has never been higher and he’s not kicked a ball since September 22nd.
The Manchester City midfielder ruptured his ACL in the 2-2 draw with Arsenal in what was his first start of the season. He had only just returned from a hamstring injury he picked up in the Euro 2024 final. The current Ballon d'Or holder is expected to miss the 2024/25 campaign and yet there's still an outside chance he retains the award.
Why? Well, simply put, Manchester City have been horrendous in his absence. The reigning champions are nine points behind leaders Liverpool and have lost more games this season (four) than they did in the entirety of the 2023/24 campaign (three).
Last term, Pep Guardiola's side conceded 0.89 goals per 90. So far this season, they've given up 1.36 goals per game. The difference there might seem minimal but over the course of a 38 game campaign, that is an extra 18 goals. As things stand, City are on course to concede 52 goals in the English top-flight. Those numbers won't win you the league. They might not even be enough for a Champions League place.
Yes, City have suffered injuries to a number of players. But the biggest factor here is the absence of Rodri.
With him in the starting XI. The 2022/23 treble winners are just different. They're ruthlessly calm, efficient and unnervingly patient.
City went 74 games unbeaten with him in their midfield. They won 58 of those fixtures, a win rate of 78%. Remarkable, really.
"With him, we are a better team," said Guardiola. "No doubt."
And this is backed up in the numbers. Last season, he missed games due to suspension. City lost to Arsenal, Wolves and Aston Villa. They were also knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Newcastle United, a game Rodri was rested in.
The Spain midfielder is the brains of this team.
“The holding midfielder is the guy on the pitch with more responsibilities," he told BBC Sport in a recent interview. "You have to make sure team works and nobody is lazy or distracted. When the team doesn't work it's kind of your fault.
"You're like a coach on the pitch. I'm not Pep [Guardiola] on the pitch in that sense because he overthinks the situation. I'm more simple.”
His whole style is simple yet effective. He wins the ball. He retains the ball. He moves the ball. Last season in the Premier League, he was second for possessions won, first for passes, passes into the final third, progressive passes, touches and carries. Per Opta, he also ranked first for Attacking Sequence Involvements in the Manchester City team. Rodri made life easier for the likes of Erling Haaland and Phil Foden.
Without the No16 this term, things just haven’t been the same.
As cliche as it sounds, Rodri, the first holding midfielder to win the Ballon d’Or since Lothar Matthaus in 1990, is quite clearly the glue that holds it all together for the champions. In the nine games he’s missed in the league following the injury, City have given up chances with an Expected Goals value of 16.8. That is an xG Against Per 90 of almost 1.8. They have given up chances worth over 2.01 in five of these games. As a defensive unit, they are crumbling. And the work the former Atletico Madrid man did for them is now being appreciated more than ever.
Absence really has made the heart grow fonder. He’s now valued more than ever, despite not playing in three months. If City’s decline continues, you’d be hard pressed to find anyone who doesn’t view the midfielder as the best player in the world.
