Fabian Ruiz sets out his ambition: “Why not dream of the Ballon d’Or?” | OneFootball

World champion with Spain and a two-time Champions League winner with Paris Saint-Germain, Fabian Ruiz, 30, the Parisian midfielder, spoke at length in an interview with Téléfoot. The Spaniard looks back on his immense list of honors, his ambitions, his values, Luis Enrique, and his Ballon d’Or dream.

Ruiz: “It was a unique, unforgettable moment”

How are you, Fabian?

“Very well, and you?”

Fabian, thank you for having us. I have a little video for you. Our world champion, wearing number 8, Fabian Ruiz! Was that your favorite song?

“I didn’t say that, but you got it wrong. I had chosen another one, a song by Estopa, who are my friends.

I got the chance to listen to this one, but I knew it too, and it was an unforgettable moment. It was ‘Paseo’ by Estopa. It’s one of my favorite songs, I listen to it a lot, and I also know the group, the brothers. I had chosen that one, but I don’t know why they got it wrong. Maybe I forgot.”

It’s been a little over a month since you became world champion. How have you felt since that great night?

“Honestly, it’s incredible. After everything we went through in this World Cup, after the celebration we were lucky enough to experience with our friends, with our whole country, in Madrid, it was a unique, unforgettable moment, and I think it will go down in history. Seeing this video and remembering it is very special.”

Ruiz: “It’s a tradition in my village”

There’s a tomato tradition in Spain, can you explain it to me?

“Yes, it’s a tradition in my village, in Los Palacios. When we win a title with our team, it’s like a gift. I’ve been lucky enough to receive that gift three times.

It’s a tradition that takes place in my village. I hope I’ll have the chance to win more titles and receive this gift, which is very special to us.”

Did you eat all of it?

“No, I couldn’t eat it all. It was a lot of kilos. I gave some to family and friends, and we ate it all.

It’s one of the loveliest things about our village, the tomatoes, because they’re really good.”

Ruiz: “I want to keep winning”

You are a European champion with Spain, now a world champion, a two-time Champions League winner with PSG, an Intercontinental Cup winner, a two-time UEFA Super Cup winner, a four-time French champion, and a two-time French Cup winner. It’s incredible.

“Yes, it’s incredible. It’s something I never would have imagined, winning so many titles and titles as important as the ones I’ve won. I’ve had a very good journey, especially in recent years, in terms of trophies.

I’m very happy and privileged to have won so many titles with my club and my national team. It’s an honor for me and I hope to win more because I still have a career ahead of me and I want to keep winning.”

Have you completed the game?

“No, not yet. It’s true that I’ve won everything, but I’m an ambitious player and I want to keep winning. I want to relive all those wonderful moments I’ve experienced.

I want to be able to win new titles. These are unique moments in the world of football. I’m an ambitious player and I work to improve and help my team, just as I’ve done at Paris Saint-Germain.”

Ruiz: “I don’t like losing”

Is that your philosophy, to always win more?

“Yes, I think that’s what has driven me since I was very young. I’ve worked all my life to reach the top. I’m a player who likes to improve and win.

We are elite athletes and we are ambitious. I always like to win. I don’t like losing.

I work very hard and I take care of myself. Every day, I focus on football so I can keep winning and improve my team. I’ve been lucky enough to win a lot and I’m going to try to do it again.

That’s the hardest thing in football, and it’s one of my goals.”

Ruiz: “Everyone was happy for me”

What kind of welcome did you get when you returned to the club?

“Very good. I have friends and people who work here. It was an incredible moment.

Everyone congratulated me. Everyone was happy for me. Everyone knew what it means to be a player who has won a World Cup.

After the match, they’re also friends who are happy about other people’s success. I thank them for all the love they showed me during the World Cup. The message of support from all the players, the president, the coach, everyone who works here, from Luis Campos, it was a very emotional message for me.”

Did you tease your teammates, Ousmane Dembélé, Désiré Doué?

“No, not after the match, because I understand that at that moment, it’s not the time for jokes. But once some time had passed and I came back here, yes, we had a few jokes, but not many.

I know that in the end, I also wanted to win it. It’s a very difficult title, one of the most prestigious for all players, and these are moments that stay with you.”

Ruiz: “Why not dream of winning a Ballon d’Or?”

Luis Enrique listed your achievements when you returned to training. He even spoke of you as a Ballon d’Or winner, which must feel good.

“My reaction is to thank a coach like Luis Enrique for saying those words about me. It’s a moment of recognition for all the work I’ve done over all this time.

I’ve always said it: for me, the most important thing is collective trophies, everything we’ve won as a team, but it’s also true that all players dream of receiving individual awards in recognition of all their work.

Why not dream of winning a Ballon d’Or? It would bring me, as a footballer, so much joy.”

Ruiz: “Why not dream of being one of the very top?”

You finished last season 24th in the Ballon d’Or rankings. What’s the goal this season?

“I’ve always said I try to be as high as possible, to improve, to fight to be as high as possible. I hope this season I’ll be among the nominees, among the 30, and why not dream of being one of the very top, as high as possible.

That’s what I work for and try to improve at every day.”

That would be nice, wouldn’t it?

“I hope so, I hope so. Why not? As I told you, I think it’s every footballer’s dream to be recognized individually for all their work during this season or previous seasons.

The truth is, I’ve been lucky enough to win a lot of team titles, but few individual ones. I hope, why not, this year to dream of getting as close as possible to the trophy. I think it’s something very special and it would be an honor for me to have a Ballon d’Or.

I’ve always said that I’m a humble person, someone who likes to stay a bit out of all that, who isn’t always at the center of people’s attention. But I think this year, thanks to my merits, my work, and my titles, I’m in a position to compete for it. I hope that, beyond all the trophies I’ve won, the work on the pitch counts for a lot.

I tried to help the team, in Paris, to win the Champions League, Ligue 1, and all the other titles. I tried to do it in the best possible way. And with the national team as well.

Every time I step onto the pitch, I try to give everything I have. If there are individual awards in recognition of all that, it’s a huge honor and satisfaction for me.”

Ruiz: “I think this is the best moment of my career”

You are 30 years old. Are you in the best phase of your career?

“I’m not going to lie to you. In terms of titles, physically, and in my play, I think this is the best moment of my career. I think I came here a few years ago to improve a lot.

When I arrived here, I struggled. But little by little, with the arrival of Luis Enrique, I improved a lot. It’s thanks to him, the team, and all the players who helped me raise my level.

I can say that this is the best moment of my career. I hope it’s not the best, because I’m a player who likes to grow and improve. It’s a very beautiful moment in my career and I will never forget it.”

Ruiz: “That little boy dreamed of one day becoming a professional”

What would you like to say to that little boy?

“It’s incredible. That was the first year I arrived at Betis. I was 8 years old.”

What would he go on to achieve? What would he go on to win?

“Everything you can win in the world of football. It’s incredible.

That little boy dreamed of one day becoming a professional, but he never imagined achieving everything I have achieved. I think it’s thanks to hard work and to the people who have been with me, my family, my friends, who stood by me in difficult moments.”

Ruiz: “Humility, hard work, and above all my mother”

“There have been many. They supported me and encouraged me since I was little. Humility, hard work, and above all my mother, who always supported me.

She encouraged me and gave me all the values I have today. Thanks to her, I was able to fight for my dreams. She helped me.

I’m truly grateful to everyone, but especially to her. I think she was the person who mattered most.”

Has the little boy in this photo achieved all his dreams?

“I would say that collectively, yes. I’ve achieved everything you can win collectively.

As I told you before, it’s true that I’m a player who doesn’t like being in the spotlight, but I think individually, what I still lack most is winning a title of that level, like the Ballon d’Or, which is recognized by everyone.

After all the work I’ve done, I think what I would still be missing is to keep improving so I can repeat and win everything I’ve won.”

Ruiz: “With his arrival in Paris, I think everyone has grown”

Is Luis Enrique the best coach of your career?

“I would say he is one of the most important. As I said before, with his arrival in Paris, I think everyone has grown, both the club and the players. I knew him from the national team; he was the one who called me up for the first time.

I was able to play a European Championship with him and, under him, I learned a lot, both personally and professionally, because he is a coach who is very close to us.

Everyone knows him as a coach, I think he is one of the best in the world. I’ve been lucky to have him here with us and I’ve been able to improve and learn a lot.”

Ruiz: “We dream of a third”

Three months have passed since the final against Arsenal, what do you feel?

“Yes, it’s true that everything goes by very fast. It feels like a year ago, because in the world of football, everything happens very quickly. But it was an incredible moment, to be able to go back-to-back, to win a second consecutive Champions League against a great rival.

Hopefully there will be a third, like Real Madrid did. We know how difficult it is to win a title, especially a Champions League, but we are going to fight.

We’re going to fight to be there, we’re going to try to go as far as possible because we dream of a third. It would be an incredible moment.”

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