Spain star joins Lionel Messi & Bobby Charlton in exclusive World Cup club

Analysis

Matthew Judge | Editor

Rodri has joined one of football’s most exclusive clubs after helping Spain win the World Cup on Sunday.

The 30-year-old was once again the backbone of a La Roja side who beat Argentina 1-0 after extra time at the MetLife Stadium.

In a tight affair which never truly got going as a spectacle, Ferran Torres scored the all-important winner as Spain clinched their second World Cup.

But with just five misplaced passes (101/106) to his name, it was captain Rodri who proved to be the ultimate difference-maker for Luis de la Fuente’s men.

And now the Manchester City man has achieved a dizzying landmark which only 10 other players have done before him.

Rodri joins Messi & Charlton in special club

Having won several honours both individually and collectively, including the Ballon d’Or in 2024, one could argue Rodri achieved football immortality before clinching the World Cup.

The midfield metronome was the lynchpin of Pep Guardiola’s Man City which won the treble in 2022-23, and the beating heart of the Spain side who triumphed at Euro 2024.

However, Rodri has further cemented his place in football history by leading Spain to a second World Cup crown.

In the wake of Spain’s semi-final victory over France, it emerged that only 10 players have managed to win the World Cup, the European Cup/UEFA Champions League and the Ballon d’Or.

In a post on Reddit, the list includes Lionel Messi, who added to his eight Ballon d’Or trophies and four Champions League titles when captaining Argentina to the World Cup at Qatar 2022.

Another name on the list is Bobby Charlton, who won the Ballon d’Or in 1966 after leading England to the World Cup in the same year, before seizing the European Cup with Manchester United in 1968.

The 11 players to win Ballon d’Or, European Cup & World Cup

Bobby Charlton - Manchester United and England

Franz Beckenbauer - Bayern Munich and Germany

Gerd Muller - Bayern Munich and Germany

Paolo Rossi - Juventus and Italy

Zinedine Zidane - Juventus, Real Madrid and France

Kaka - AC Milan and Brazil

Rivaldo - Barcelona, AC Milan and Brazil

Ronaldinho - Barcelona and Brazil

Lionel Messi - Barcelona and Argentina

Ousmane Dembele - Paris Saint-Germain and France

Rodri - Manchester City and Spain

Who could be the next player to join Rodri in the exclusive club?

When looking at the existing members of the club, one thing is clear: you must be one of the best players of your generation to receive an invite.

With that, a few players immediately come to mind: Kylian Mbappe, Lamine Yamal, Erling Haaland, Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Jr.

Mbappe has won the World Cup with France in 2018, and so he needs to win the Champions League and the Ballon d’Or in order to make the list.

Yamal is also missing the same two honours, having helped Spain win this summer’s World Cup alongside Rodri.

Haaland meanwhile requires the World Cup and Ballon d’Or, having teamed up with Rodri to help Man City win the Champions League in 2023.

And England hero Bellingham and Brazil star Vinicius Jr need the same two honours, having both won the Champions League with Real Madrid in 2024.

One man who has two pieces of the three-part puzzle is Julian Alvarez - the striker needing just the Ballon d’Or having won the Champions League with Man City and the World Cup with Argentina.

Fabian Ruiz is also a Ballon d’Or away from joining Rodri in the club, having won the World Cup with Spain and two Champions League crowns with Paris Saint-Germain.

And then there is Cristiano Ronaldo, who has won multiple Ballon d’Or’s and Champions League crowns, but at the age of 41 he is now unlikely to win the World Cup with Portugal.