Pep Guardiola weighed in on the GOAT debate after the 2024 Ballon d’Or verdict.
To much disagreement, Spanish defensive midfielder Rodri, who plays for Guardiola’s Manchester City team, took home the exclusive award. Needless to say, Real Madrid fans were dissatisfied with the decision to overlook superstar Vini Junior. Some fans even took to protest outside the Châtelet Theatre in Paris.
Guardiola, who coached Messi from 2008 to 2012 at Barcelona, described the player as “the father of the monster” and Ronaldo as a “monster” in their own right. It was their duopoly that prevented the likes of Iniesta and Xavi from ever snatching the Ballon d’Or.
“And Messi, nobody could beat him,” Guardiola told reporters on Tuesday.
“Just Cristiano. Cristiano was a monster, and the father of the monster is Messi. And both have done something incredible in the last 15 or 20 years. And maybe in that moment, Xavi and Iniesta deserved the Ballon d’Or as well. So I think Rodri, yesterday, got what Spanish football deserved worldwide.”
The Ballon d’Or has long been a testament to the dominance of Messi and Ronaldo. Between 2008 and 2023, they claimed 13 out of 15 awards, with only Luka Modric in 2018 and Karim Benzema in 2022 breaking their streak.
