While many expected Vinicius Junior to be crowned the world's best player at Monday's Ballon d'Or ceremony, there was a late twist as Manchester City's Rodri took the prize.

The honour – considered the most prestigious individual gong in world football – comes after Rodri placed fifth in the voting for the 2023 edition, won by Lionel Messi.

Since 2022, voting for the award has been based off contenders' performances in the previous season, with Rodri rewarded for a 2023-24 campaign in which he led City to Premier League glory before shining in Spain's Euro 2024 triumph.

Here, we delve into the Opta data to see how the midfielder came to be recognised as the world's best player.

Season unbeaten

Rodri's importance to Pep Guardiola's all-conquering City side is well-established, but the 2023-24 campaign saw it made clear like never before.

City did not taste defeat in the 34 Premier League games in which Rodri featured, winning 27 and drawing seven. When Rodri was absent, they only won one of four matches, losing the other three.

The champions averaged 2.6 goals per game with Rodri involved compared to 1.5 without him, also conceding 0.9 times per outing with the Spaniard and 1.3 times without him. 

They collected 2.6 points per game when Rodri featured, compared to 0.8 when he did not – that latter tally would equate to 30.4 over a full 38-game campaign, just more than 18th-placed Luton Town's tally of 26 from 2023-24.

Each of City's last four Premier League defeats have come when Rodri was absent, with the Spaniard now unbeaten in an incredible 52 top-flight appearances (42 wins, 10 draws) since a 1-0 defeat to Tottenham in February 2023. 

It is no wonder, then, that City were so devastated to lose him to the anterior cruciate ligament injury he suffered in September's 2-2 draw with Arsenal, ending his 2024-25 season prematurely.

The driving force

Rodri has long been viewed as the glue holding City's talented midfield together, but 2023-24 felt like the moment when he stepped up to become a real matchwinner.

Having decided the 2023 Champions League final in City's favour with his goal against Inter, Rodri enjoyed the most prolific season of his career last term.

His eight league goals bettered his previous best of seven from 2021-22, while he also managed nine assists – also his highest in any campaign across Europe's top five leagues. 

He finished with nine goals and 13 assists across all competitions. Just Erling Haaland (38), Phil Foden (27), Julian Alvarez (19) and Bernardo Silva (12) outscored him for City, while only Kevin De Bruyne (17) registered more assists. Not bad for a defensive midfielder.

Rodri also enhanced his reputation as a big-game player with several decisive strikes, from a vital equaliser in a 1-1 draw with Chelsea to a result-clinching drive against West Ham on the final day, as City edged out Arsenal for the title.

He also did his job in terms of keeping things ticking over, setting new Premier League records (from 2003-04 onwards) for successful passes (3,359) and successful passes in the opposition’s half (2,122) in a single season.

First for City, fourth for La Roja

Rodri's Ballon d'Or triumph is the first by any City player, with Erling Haaland notably missing out to Messi in 2023. It also ends a 16-year wait for a Premier League player to claim the prize, with Cristiano Ronaldo the last to do so while with Manchester United in 2008.

Having been named Player of the Tournament as Spain claimed a record-breaking fourth European crown at Euro 2024, Rodri also made his mark on the international stage.

He is the first Spanish player to win football's top individual honour since 1960, and just the third to do so overall.

Real Madrid icon Alfredo Di Stefano won the prize twice after switching allegiance from Argentina, in 1957 and 1959.

This year's award was also notable for the absence of Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo from the 30-man shortlist, and Rodri is just the third player from outside that duo to claim the trophy since 2008, alongside Luka Modric in 2018 and Karim Benzema in 2022.

He and Modric are the only non-attackers, meanwhile, to triumph since 2007, when Kaka edged out Ronaldo and Messi to be recognised as the world's best.