Rodri becomes second ever Manchester City player to claim global football award after Ballon d’Or success | OneFootball

Manchester City have made it back-to-back successes at the IFFHS awards following a victory for Rodri off the back of his Ballon d’Or triumph earlier this year.

It is the second major award for Rodri in a matter of weeks after creating football history by claiming the Ballon d’Or award for the first time as a defensive midfielder since Lothar Matthaus in 1990.

Rodri endured one of the greatest individual seasons in his top-level career, playing an integral role in both Manchester City’s fourth consecutive Premier League title win and Spain’s European Championships triumph in Germany over the summer.

And now, following his triumph in Paris at the Ballon d’Or awards, Rodri has now been named as Men’s World Player of the Year for 2024 by IFFHS – making it successive victories for Manchester City after Erling Haaland won the 2023 edition of the award.

Rodri once again defeated competition from Real Madrid, with Vinicius Jr claiming second place in the top-10 rankings followed by a third position finish for teammate and Los Blancos midfielder Jude Bellingham.

IFFHS Men’s World Player of the Year rankings for 2024:

191 Points – 1st, Rodri (Manchester City)

166 Points – 2nd, Vinicius Jr (Real Madrid)

62 Points – 3rd, Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid)

39 Points – 4th, Lamine Yamal (FC Barcelona)

35 Points – 5th, Erling Haaland (Manchester City)

35 Points – 6th, Dani Carvajal (Real Madrid)

10 Points – 7th, Toni Kroos (Real Madrid)

9 Points – 8th, Harry Kane (Bayern Munich)

8 Points – 9th, Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan)

7 Points – 10th, Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid)

Other winners crowned by IFFHS for 2024 include Real Madrid and England’s Jude Bellingham, who claimed the prize for ‘Best Playmaker’ for the year, succeeding Kevin De Bruyne who had one three of the four issues prior to this year.

As for Rodri, the Spaniard is not expected back until the tail-end of the ongoing season as he continues recovery from a double knee injury, with some anticipating some involvement at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup in the United States.