Spain Captain Rodri Wins Golden Ball as Player of the Tournament at World Cup 2026

Spain captain Rodri won the Golden Ball award for the best player at the 2026 World Cup on Sunday after leading his team to a 1-0 extra-time victory against Argentina in the final at New York New Jersey Stadium.

The 30-year-old Manchester City midfielder, who won the Ballon d’Or for the world’s best player in 2024, was named Player of the Tournament after another commanding campaign for La Roja, less than two years after suffering a career-threatening knee injury.

Rodri was awarded the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player after orchestrating Spain’s midfield throughout their successful World Cup campaign. His composure, leadership and control proved instrumental as La Roja lifted their second FIFA World Cup title.

The captain of La Roja orchestrated a midfield that authored six clean-sheet victories, including in the final. In the semi-final against France, Rodri won 11 duels, more than the entire French midfield, to propel Spain to the final.

He is now the 11th player to win the World Cup, Champions League and Ballon d’Or in his career. He also came into the final as the leader in successful passes and line-breaking passes, with the most touches of any player in the competition.

For Rodri, the award is the perfect script after a very difficult two years. The midfielder ruptured an anterior cruciate ligament while playing for City against Arsenal in September 2024, making his competitive return the following May after eight months out.

Speaking after receiving the award, Rodri said the team were “a bit shocked right now” and described his journey from heaven to hell and back again.

“It feels like the perfect script. I certainly didn’t expect this,” Rodri said after receiving FIFA’s Golden Ball award. “I’d love for the younger generations to see that a player who touches the heavens, then descends into hell, can come back.”

“Even myself I cannot express with words,” he said. “I think now we’re like in a cloud. It’s been a very tough time. I just want the new generations to see my example as an opportunity — when you go down you can rise again. This is my philosophy my entire life. Of course, sometimes things go well, things they go wrong. But always the positivity I said to the lads before the game — we have to go for the game. We need to face them. We have to look to the eyes and see it. We won this game and then life gives you the World Cup or not. But we were brave and I was brave in that moment.”

While Rodri did not score or assist during the tournament, he was credited with effective passing that allowed Spain to dominate possession. He completed a tournament-high 803 passes, underlining his pivotal role in Luis de la Fuente’s possession-based style. The Spanish midfield created an unbreakable wall in front of a defensive backline that only gave up one goal in the entire tournament.

Spain also swept other awards, with Unai Simon winning the Golden Glove for best goalkeeper and Pau Cubarsi winning the Best Young Player Award, beating his teammate Lamine Yamal.