Rio Ferdinand has declared Spain and Manchester City midfielder Rodri as the ‘most valuable player in football’ ahead of the Euro 2024 final.
Since joining Manchester City in 2019, Rodri has emerged as one of the most accomplished players globally, aiding Pep Guardiola’s team in securing four Premier League titles and the Champions League.
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The defensive midfielder also played a pivotal role in Spain’s Nations League victory last year and has been instrumental in La Roja’s journey to the Euro 2024 final.
Rodri has been a standout performer in the Euros, with Spain topping Group B and defeating Georgia, hosts Germany, and World Cup finalists France to secure a spot in Sunday’s final in Berlin, where they will face England.
Former England and Manchester United defender Ferdinand has praised Rodri as the ‘best conductor in the game’ and considers him the ‘most valuable’ player worldwide.
‘Rodri is the best conductor in the game,’ he stated on The Rest is Football podcast. ‘I actually think he’s the most valuable player right now in football.
‘Rodri is just above everybody. He almost looks like the teacher on the pitch and everyone else are pupils, that’s how it feels to me. He’s got a real calm authority about him.’
Rodri shares a club with England stars Phil Foden, John Stones, and Kyle Walker and is well-acquainted with the entire Three Lions squad from his Premier League experience.
‘I know them well, I know the culture of English football perfectly,’ Rodri told AS ahead of the final.
‘They have a very talented team, players who can unbalance and who can control all aspects of the game.
‘They defend well, they can attack you, they are good at set pieces. We have to work on how to hurt them. We have our weapons, we are confident that we can beat them.’
One of Spain’s greatest assets at the Euros has been the teenage prodigy Lamine Yamal.
‘I see a maturity in him that I don’t know if I’ve ever seen before, honestly,’ Rodri added. ‘And I see potential, a player… I couldn’t tell you Lamine’s ceiling.
‘We’ll know in a few years. In five or six years, we’ll see. In one or two years he’ll be one of the best in the world.
‘But above all I see him as a very calm boy, eager to learn. And supportive. For people with that talent and those virtues, there are times when we see players who are good at something and stick to it.
‘In Lamine I see a boy who wants to win collectively, to be supportive, to not think he’s better. And, with these tools, he has everything to be one of the best in the coming years.’
