FIFA has announced once and for all the players who will be eligible to win The Best award on March 15 and the winner will be between Erling Haaland, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé.
Undoubtedly, the great favorite to win the award is none other than the Norwegian striker. Although Messi recently received the Ballon d’Or for the eighth time, he is not aiming to win The Best this time as he already won it last season, considering Argentina’s World Cup success in Qatar.
If Erling Haaland could have a clear rival to fight for The Best, he is not among the finalists. It is without a doubt Rodri Hernández, who has been the great forgotten by FIFA, because he was also made by France Football in front of the Ballon d’Or.
Manchester City were clearly, by far, the best team last season. Pep Guardiola’s team achieved the treble by lifting their first Champions League and there are three names that stand out from the rest: Erling Haaland, Rodri and Kevin de Bruyne, the pillars of the team.
The Spanish case is noisy. This season has shown how important Rodri is and that of the four defeats suffered by Manchester City it has happened without the Spaniard on the field, with Erling Haaland present. Not only that, he scored the goal in the final against Inter Milan that gave them the Champions League, with a shot from outside the area. And the midfielder played a total of 56 games, accumulating 4,476 minutes, and was key in both attack and defense.
But Rodri’s transcendence goes beyond Manchester City. Unlike Erling Haaland and Kevin de Bruyne, he crowned his incomparable season by also lifting the first Nations League in the history of Spain, playing every minute of the final stage and proving, once again, a difference.
If so, it would be less understandable that Rodri was not among the three finalists for The Best because, at least, his year was more impressive than Leo Messi and Mbappé and, at least, like Haaland . , let it all be said, broke several records in his first season at Manchester City and will be a worthy winner.
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
