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Pep Guardiola says Rodri’s Ballon d’Or success was reflective of Spanish football’s influence on the world game – and would have come sooner had it not been for ‘monster’ Cristiano Ronaldo and his ‘father’ Lionel Messi.
Manchester City midfielder Rodri was last night crowned the best player in the world – much to the annoyance of Real Madrid who boycotted the Paris ceremony in protest at Vinicius Jr being overlooked.
The award has previously been dominated by Messi and Ronaldo – the pair winning it 13 times in the past 15 years – and Guardiola felt that sometimes overshadowed the impact Spain has made on the global stage.
The Catalan said: “Rodri made an incredible speech. He spoke about family, Man City and Spanish football. In the last decade, Spanish football has made such a difference – they’ve won a World Cup, a Euros – and Spain were never able to win this award before.
“Their importance in the last 10 or 15 years has been so important. I remember once we nominated three players from La Masia. Xavi and Iniesta couldn’t win it because Messi’s a monster and nobody could beat him – just Cristiano [Ronaldo]. He’s a monster and the father of the monster is Messi.”
🗣️ “We are not hear to judge what the other clubs have to do”
Pep Guardiola congratulates Rodri on winning the Ballon D’or and gives his thoughts on Real Madrid boycotting the ceremony 🔵 pic.twitter.com/Z7OXh549YQ
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) October 29, 2024
Guardiola won’t judge other clubs
Former Barcelona boss Guardiola refused to be drawn on Madrid’s decision not to travel en masse to France, but pointed out Erling Haaland could have won it last year before missing out to Messi.
“It’s up to them. If they want to congratulate, that’s fine. If not, that’s fine as well. At Manchester City, we are not here to judge other clubs on what they decide they have to do,” he added.
“Last season for example, Erling…
Source link : https://www.101greatgoals.com/football/pep-guardiola-describes-cristiano-ronaldo-as-a-monster-but-says-lionel-messi-is-the-monsters-father/
Author : Jon Fisher
Publish date : 2024-10-29 13:19:21
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