Ballon d'Or 2023: Yamal vs Rodri Showdown
The Ballon d'Or storm is gathering again. Four names dominate the conversation, but two sit at the eye of it: Lamine Yamal and Rodri.
Barcelona have thrown their full weight behind Yamal. The club see their teenage phenomenon as the face of the new era and the rightful heir to the award, and they are acting like it. The messaging is coordinated, the praise is relentless, the PR machine is in full swing. For them, this is Yamal’s year.
And yet, inside the same dressing room, stands another contender.
Tebas plants his flag
Javier Tebas has broken from the growing Yamal chorus and nailed his colours to Rodri instead. The La Liga chief didn’t hesitate when asked who should take home the trophy.
"With what Rodri has done in the World Cup, he deserves it again," Tebas said, pointing straight at the midfielder’s towering campaign at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
It is a hard case to dismiss. Across the tournament, Rodri dictated games with a calm that bordered on ruthless. He ran Spain’s midfield, set the tempo, killed counter-attacks, and turned pressure into control. His leadership and composure became the platform for Spain’s first World Cup triumph since 2010.
In a competition loaded with stars, he was the one who looked in charge of the entire stage.
The case against the champion
There is a problem, though. A big one.
Outside that World Cup, Rodri’s season was shredded by injury. For Manchester City, he managed only 21 league appearances. The rhythm that usually defines his club campaigns never fully arrived, and City paid a price in the title race, falling short in the Premier League.
On the Ballon d'Or ballot, that matters. Strip away the World Cup, and Rodri’s résumé for the year looks thin by the standards of this award. One massive tournament, yes, but not the relentless dominance over a full season that voters often lean toward.
Yamal, by contrast, can point to a double pillar: La Liga and the World Cup. He lifted the league title with Barcelona and then added the World Cup with Spain. His performances on the global stage did not quite hit the same level as Rodri, Harry Kane or Kylian Mbappé, but the combination of trophies and his explosive rise gives him a different kind of momentum.
So the choice becomes sharper. Do voters reward the player who reached the absolute peak at the biggest tournament, even with a disrupted club season? Or do they side with the prodigy whose year was defined by silverware and a narrative of inevitability?
Rodri has already shown he can stand on that Ballon d'Or podium. Yamal is trying to kick the door down before he has even finished his first act.
