Kyle Walker Commends Rodri’s Ballon d’Or Recognition

Manchester City captain Kyle Walker commended his team-mate Rodri, the Ballon d’Or recipient, during an appearance on a recent installment of You’ll Never Beat Kyle Walker on BBC Sounds. The England full-back stated, “For him, it’s absolutely fantastic.” He added, “I think he’s been nothing short of probably perfect in the last couple of seasons. You can see what he means to Man City.” Walker continued, “I think this season we’ve adapted very well without him but in the last couple of seasons when he’s not really been there, we’ve not really been the same Man City. The goals that he’s scored, the assists that he’s provided, it’s not really a defensive midfielder.” He also mentioned, “‘Gundo’ [Ilkay Gundogan] said something in a post someone sent me and for a defensive player to get that award, for us defensive-minded players it means a little bit more.” Walker concluded by saying, “If you look at the last 10-15 years, you’ve got Messi and Ronaldo without a shadow of a doubt, then Luka’s [Modric] got it and then Benzema. It’s recognition for the work that he’s putting in without getting the headlines.”