5⃣ stories of the day: Ballon d'Or nominees, Rodri's criticism... | OneFootball

Tuesday, September 8 begins packed with news and packed with football.

So let’s go over the news you can’t miss to start the day...

The Champions League gets underway

📸 VALERY HACHE - AFP or licensors

The 72nd edition of the UEFA Champions League begins, or in other words, the 35th under the Champions League name.

It gets going with some huge matches, with Real Madrid-Inter, Borussia Dortmund-Villarreal, Lille-Betis and Porto-Manchester City standing out this Tuesday.

The Ballon d'Or nominees

📸 FRANCK FIFE - AFP or licensors

After the 2025/2026 season and the World Cup this summer, the Ballon d'Or debate begins.

To that end, FIFA will announce the 30 nominees during Tuesday morning. You’ll have the full list on 'OneFootball', as always.

Morata: "It was going to be easier for Luis de la Fuente if I wasn’t there"

📸 OSCAR DEL POZO - AFP or licensors

Álvaro Morata spoke in an interview with 'El Larguero' on 'Cadena SER' and explained how he experienced the World Cup.

These were his words on Luis de la Fuente leaving him out of the squad: "Yes, yes. You always have that... In the end, I think like with anything in life, there is always hope, there is always... And I could have gone because of being important for the group, for creating a good atmosphere, as I’ve always done. But I also think it was going to be easier for the coach if I wasn’t there. That’s my personal opinion.

Because in the end, when it’s been for good, for good; for bad, for bad. In the end, I honestly think those decisions also matter. It’s better to live together calmly, to have a peaceful atmosphere, and maybe not have a possible problem there."

Real Sociedad win in dramatic fashion

📸 Francisco Macia - 2026 Getty Images

The matchday in La Liga came to an end, and it did so in dramatic fashion. Real Sociedad, down to ten men, beat Elche in a match they controlled before it became complicated. Sucic gave them the three points at the death.

Meanwhile, Getafe and Celta drew despite the Madrid side being down to ten men. Because of that, Claudio Giráldez was very critical of his team and did not like the nervousness they showed when they saw their opponents were a man down.

Rodri on Valencia: "They’re really bad, man, they’re awful"

📸 David Ramos - 2026 Getty Images

Movistar Plus cameras caught Rodri talking to Cubarsí about Valencia, something that was aired on 'El Día Después' but later deleted.

In the video, Rodri said about Valencia: "They’re really bad, man; they’re awful...". He then asked how they had finished last year and was surprised to learn they had been close to qualifying for Europe.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.

📸 THOMAS SAMSON - AFP or licensors