What’s the point of all these sacrifices’ – Ballon d’Or winner Rodri reveals he was ready to quit football aged 17

Rodri has revealed that he came close to throwing in the towel as a teenager as he was not convinced it was worth all the sacrifices he had to make along the way.

The Manchester City midfielder won the prestigious Ballon d’Or award last month, but has acknowledged that it wasn’t always easy for him to stay motivated when he was in the infancy of his playing career.

• AFP

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Rodri joined the Atletico Madrid youth setup in 2007 at the age of 11 and continued his development there for six years. In 2013, when he was 17, he had to make the tough decision of leaving his family in Madrid to join the Villarreal youth academy. He didn’t make his debut for the reserve side until February 2015, and had to wait another 10 months before making his professional debut with the first team.

  WHAT RODRI SAID

  Speaking in an interview on El Hormiguero (h/t AS), Rodri said: “It stops being a hobby and becomes something professional. If you want to reach the top, you give everything without knowing if you are going to receive anything. I have not had a normal adolescence, I have missed many moments. Leaving my family to go to Villarreal was the most important decision of my life. That first year was complicated. Between 17 and 19 is when you have to make the leap. I called my father, heartbroken, and asked him what was the point of everything I had sacrificed to continue. He told me that in the year ahead, in the time I had left, I should give everything, forget about the consequences and that I only had to win, nothing to lose.”

• Getty Images Sport

  WHAT NEXT FOR RODRI?

  Rodri suffered an unfortunate ACL and meniscus injury in September during a Premier League clash with Arsenal, effectively calling curtains on his season. The Spaniard is expected to recover before the start of the 2025-26 season.