Rodri completes ‘perfect script’ with World Cup triumph after career‐threatening injury

Spain midfielder Rodri says his World Cup victory has completed the “perfect script” to his career – less than two years after a serious knee ligament rupture threatened to derail it – and hopes his story will inspire young players facing setbacks.

The 30-year-old was named FIFA’s Player of the Tournament after Spain beat Argentina 1-0 in the World Cup final, adding the only missing piece to his glittering haul of major honours.

By lifting the trophy, the Manchester City midfielder joined Franz Beckenbauer, Gerd Muller and Zinedine Zidane in an elite group of male players to have won the World Cup, European Championship, the European Cup/Champions League and the Ballon d’Or.

Rodri admitted he did not expect to reach such heights so soon after suffering the devastating knee injury that sidelined him and cast doubt over his future at the top level.

“It feels like the perfect script. I certainly didn’t expect this,” he said after collecting FIFA’s Player of the Tournament award, officially named the Golden Ball. “I’d love for the younger generations to see that a player who touches the heavens, then descends into hell, can come back. It’s a lesson in overcoming adversity.”

From injury low to historic high

Rodri’s achievement is underscored by the context of his recent struggles. He entered the tournament still searching for the dominant form that earned him the Ballon d’Or in 2024, a year in which he helped Spain win the European Championship and drove Manchester City to a record 74-match unbeaten run with him in the side.

Those performances had already cemented his status as one of world football’s most influential midfielders. Yet the knee ligament rupture that followed posed one of the biggest challenges of his career, physically and mentally.

His return to the summit of the sport – capped by a World Cup win and the tournament’s top individual honour – is being framed by the player himself as a story of resilience.

‘We’re on cloud nine’

Despite his starring role, Rodri stressed that Spain’s success in the final against Argentina was rooted in collective strength rather than individual brilliance.

Rodri may be Spain’s most influential player but La Furia Roja are all about the collective and Rodri heaped praise on his teammates for the way they kept at their task against a resilient Argentina side and finally secured a 1-0 victory with a Ferran Torres goal in the second period of extra time.

“That’s the secret of the national team,” he said. ”We’re always going to go for you. In the end, God rewards you. We’ve been brave.

“We’re on cloud nine. This squad is sensational. We’re two-time World Cup champions.

“It was the toughest tournament in World Cup history. We beat a great Argentina side, featuring [Lionel] Messi, the best player in history.”

Ferran Torres’s decisive strike deep into extra time ended Argentina’s resistance and ensured Spain added a second world title to the one claimed by their 2010 predecessors.

Exclusive club of seven

Rodri has now joined an ultra‐select group of just seven players to have won the World Cup, the UEFA Champions League, a continental title with their national team and the Ballon d’Or – underlining his status in the modern game.

Rodri has joined an exclusive list of just seven players who have won:FIFA World CupUEFA Champions LeagueContinental title with their national teamBallon d’Or 🤩#SSFootball#FIFAWorldCup2026pic.twitter.com/iMc3LGy2h1

Though it was a tough final, Rodri was in no doubt that his team deserved to join their Spanish 2010 predecessors by lifting the biggest prize in the game.

“Argentina. World champions,” he said. ”They haven’t created much, but they’re hard to break down. Spain are simply very good, and in the end, the result was fair.”

As Spain’s players returned home – Rodri stepping off the plane in Madrid and holding the World Cup aloft alongside coach Luis de la Fuente and federation president Rafael Louzan – the midfielder’s journey from injury “hell” to the top of world football stood out as the defining narrative of their latest triumph.