The Villarreal academy graduate is named the best footballer on the planet of 2024
Rodrigo Hernández is the 2024 Ballon d’Or winner. The former Villarreal CF youth player has received this prestigious award, given by France Football magazine, for the best player of the year.
The Villarreal CF academy graduate has won the vote after a fantastic season with Manchester City and the Spanish national team. In 2024, the midfielder from Madrid won the European Championship with ‘La Roja’, being the great leader of the national team. With the English team, he has also won the Premier League and the Community Shield.
With this individual award, Rodrigo puts the finishing touch to an impeccable playing career, in which he has also won the Champions League with Manchester City and the UEFA Nations League with the Spanish national team.
Rodri Hernández, a star forged in the Yellows’ youth academy
Rodrigo Hernández Cascante (Madrid, Spain, 22nd June 1996) is a brilliant footballer who was developed in the Cantera Grogueta. He arrived at Villarreal CF in 2013 to play in the youth ranks of the yellow club, with whom he made history by winning the Champions Cup (14-15) with the Juvenil A and was even proclaimed European Under-19 Champion with the Spanish National Team.
In 2015, when he was just 19 years old, current Yellows head coach Marcelino García Toral gave him his first-team debut in a win over SD Huesca in the Copa del Rey (2-0). That same season, he played five more games.
After great performances with the B team, the following season he made the leap to the first team, where he learned from club legends such as Bruno Soriano and Manu Trigueros. In the 2017/18 campaign, Rodrigo became a regular starter at Villarreal and surprised the football world with his stellar performances in yellow. With the Submarine’s first team, he played a total of 84 games.
After that, he played one season at Atlético de Madrid and became one of the best players at Manchester City, but always leaving details of great affection for Villarreal CF, the team he considers his home.
