Only ten players in the history of soccer have won the Ballon d’Or, the Champions League and the World Cup. Rodri is one win away from making it eleven.
The Spain midfielder has already got the Champions League trophy on his shelf after scoring the only goal in Manchester City’s 1-0 win over Inter in the 2023 final. A year later he picked up the Ballon d’Or, becoming just the second Spanish player ever to do it. Luis Suárez Miramontes was the first, and that was back in 1960.
Now Spain just has to beat Argentina in Sunday’s World Cup final and Rodri joins that group. Simple on paper, but anyone who watched Argentina slice through opponents in Qatar knows it won’t be simple on the pitch.
Rodri has been quietly brilliant all tournament. After months dealing with injuries, he looks fully fit again. He reads the game better than almost anyone, never panics with the ball and sets the tempo for everything Spain does. Luis de la Fuente’s system basically runs through him.
The list of players who have pulled off this triple is absurd. Lionel Messi is the most recent addition. He had the Ballon d’Or and Champions League locked down for years, but didn’t get the World Cup until 2022 in Qatar. Zinedine Zidane won the Ballon d’Or and World Cup in the same year — 1998 — then added that ridiculous volley against Leverkusen in the 2002 Champions League final.
There are three Brazilians on the list. Ronaldinho won the World Cup in 2002, the Ballon d’Or in 2005 and the Champions League with Barcelona in 2006. Kaká did it in reverse order — Champions League and Ballon d’Or in 2007 after winning the World Cup in 2002. Rivaldo got his Ballon d’Or in 1999, the World Cup in 2002 and the Champions League with Milan in 2003.
Germany has two legends. Franz Beckenbauer won two Ballon d’Ors, three straight European Cups with Bayern and captained West Germany to the 1974 World Cup. Gerd Müller scored the winning goal in that final and already had his Ballon d’Or from 1970.
Bobby Charlton represents England. He won the Ballon d’Or and World Cup in 1966, then the European Cup with Manchester United in 1968. Paolo Rossi won the 1982 World Cup and the Ballon d’Or that same year, then added the European Cup with Juventus in 1985.
Ousmane Dembélé is the most recent name besides Messi. He won the World Cup in 2018, the Champions League with PSG in 2025 and then the Ballon d’Or.
Rodri is 30 years old and has already won almost everything there is to win in soccer. But the World Cup is the one that separates the very good from the legends. Sunday night in the final against Argentina will tell us which category he belongs in.
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