The 28-year-old was revealed as the 2024 Ballon d’Or in Paris on Monday evening, beating Real Madrid trio Vinicius Junior, Jude Bellingham and Dani Carvajal into second, third and fourth respectively.
As well as being the first City player ever to win the prize, he is the first Spanish man since 1960 and the first Premier League player since 2008.
Voted for by a panel of journalists from the 100 top-ranking FIFA nations, it is richly deserved recognition that sees our midfielder crowned as the world’s best player over the last 12 months.
Fellow City players Ruben Dias, Phil Foden and Erling Haaland also made it onto the 30-man shortlist.
Haaland was the next highest ranking City player, finishing fifth while Foden came 11th and Dias was announced in 23rd place.
However, the night belonged to Rodrigo.
Here we’ll run through the stats that have defined his City career so far...
11
Since arriving in 2019, Rodrigo has been a key part of Pep Guardiola‘s all-conquering side.
He has been central to 11 major honours - including four Premier League titles, two League Cups, a Champions League, FA Cup, FIFA Club World Cup, UEFA Super Cup and Community Shield.
After just five complete seasons, he is already one of the most decorated players in our history with only those who have been at the Club for more of Guardiola‘s reign winning more for City.
260
That’s how many games our man has played for City in just over five seasons at the Etihad Stadium.
Given he’s only appeared three times this term due to injury, it means he’s averaging over 50 appearances a term under Guardiola.
2022/23 - when we won an historic European Treble - was his busiest campaign in a City shirt, playing 56 times in total.
238 of those appearances have come from the start, with his 20,555 minutes on the pitch the ninth most in Europe’s top five leagues since the summer of 2019.
191
Rodri has won 74% of games played for City.
His 191 victories in 260 games is the second most of any player in Europe’s top five leagues while he has won 129 of his 174 Premier League matches.
Incredibly, he has gone 52 games in the Premier League since last tasting defeat - a club record run that stretches all the way back to February 2023.
56
That’s how many goals our holding midfielder has directly contributed to at City.
While scoring and assisting is not the No.16’s primary concern, it’s vital that he chips in at crucial times.
That number also doesn’t factor in the goals that are scored as the result of a move started by Rodrigo.
He has found the net 26 times in total for City and provided 30 assists, with the 2023/24 campaign his most fruitful - scoring nine goals and contributing 14 assists.
Rodrigo also has a knack for goals at vital moments, not least his Champions League final winning strike in Istanbul in 2023 that will live forever in the memory.
20,065
This is where Rodrigo really comes into his own.
That staggering number is how many passes our man has completed in a City shirt.
It is the best in Europe since 2019, while his total of 13,699 in the Premier League is comfortably the most in our top-flight.
They’re not just safe passes either, with his tally of 4,944 passes in the final third also the most in Europe’s big five leagues.
It’s empirical evidence that the domination of possession enjoyed by Guardiola‘s City in almost every game we play is in large part down to Rodrigo.
1,955
Out of possession, Rodrigo is a monster too.
Given that City enjoy a lot of the ball, it is often hard for our players to top defensive statistics.
However, our man has won possession from the opposition 1,955 times in total. That figure is more than anyone else in Europe.
