Alvaro Morata believes Lamine Yamal has the potential to be one of the world's best ahead of Spain's Euro 2024 opener against Croatia this Saturday.
Morata, who will lead La Roja at the tournament, is one of only two players included in Luis de la Fuente's squad with over 50 international caps, with the Spanish opting for youth over experience in Germany.
16-year-old Lamal enjoyed a breakthrough campaign with Barcelona, scoring seven goals and registering 10 assists in 50 appearances in all competitions.
Yamal is expected to break Pedri's European Championship record and become Spain's youngest player to feature at the tournament, with Morata believing he has all the attributes to reach the top of world football.
"It's a pleasure to have him playing with us. He offers something different," Morata told UEFA.com on the La Masia graduate.
"If he is lucky and doesn't suffer major injuries, then he will be among the very best in the world, because despite being just 16 years old, he is already a step further than many others.
"He must mature, but that's normal. Sometimes it seems he isn't 16, it seems he is 23 or 24. Above all, we need to make him understand how important it is to manage matches mentally and also the fact that you sometimes need to slow down the match rather than trying to make something out of everything.
"He is really good at dribbling, he has a great technique, but he must help us with that by understanding that there are certain matches where the most important thing is to protect the current result."
Morata takes the armband from Jordi Alba, who captained the side to their maiden Nations League title last year, and is hopeful of emulating Iker Casillas, who led Spain to three international honours, including back-to-back European Championships.
"It's an incredibly proud feeling, Morata said. "My family often sends me a photo of mine of the time when Spain won the first of their last two EURO [in 2008].
"I was out in a square full of people celebrating the title, and you always think it's a dream when you start playing for Spain to one day be amongst the top scorers, or to be the captain. I've achieved both those things, step by step.
"Every time I hear the anthem and I wear the [captain's] armband it is unbelievable. I only try to help my team-mates, make sure they're happy but also drum into them that a competition like this is all about very small details. We're not here on holiday, and this month is about working hard."
Napoli go seven points clear at the top with 2-0 win in Milan
Napoli won 2-0 away to AC Milan on Tuesday to extend their lead at the top of Serie A to seven points.
The visitors struck twice in the first half through Romelu Lukaku and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to seal their victory and put more space between themselves and second-placed Inter Milan.
Hosts Milan were rocked by Lukaku's goal, which came in the fifth minute and was his fourth of the season, while Napoli never looked back afterwards.
Antonio Conte's side scored a second with a wonderful curling effort from Kvaratskhelia that killed the game as a contest.
Milan did have an Alvaro Morata goal ruled out two minutes into the second half after a VAR review for offside, but that was the closest they came among a handful of decent opportunities.
But league leaders Napoli were able to hold on for their fifth consecutive league victory, which was also their ninth without defeat. Milan stay eighth on 14 points.
Data debrief: Dominant Napoli are challenging for another Scudetto
Tuesday's victory puts Napoli on 25 points after 10 matches, which is almost half of their entire total (53) from the 2023-24 season.
The match was also their seventh clean sheet in their last eight matches in all competitions, while they have conceded the equal-fewest goals (five) in Serie A.
They are unbeaten since losing against Hella Verona on the opening day and have won eight of their nine league games since.
'Keep working hard' - Rodri backs Yamal for future Ballon d'Or glory
Rodri is confident that Spain team-mate Lamine Yamal will win the Ballon d'Or in the future after claiming the prestigious award for the first time on Monday.
Rodri beat off competition from Real Madrid duo Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham to claim the accolade, becoming the first Spaniard to win the prize since 1960.
Yamal also picked up an award after a stellar year for club and country, winning the Kopa Trophy, which is given to the best to the best player under the age of 21.
The 17-year-old netted seven goals and added nine assists in his debut season with Barca, while also starring in Spain's European Championship success alongside Rodri.
Yamal was named the Young Player of the Tournament at Euro 2024 after registering five goal involvements (one goal, four assists), including an assist in the final.
During his acceptance speech, Rodri made sure to acknowledge Spain's rising star, saying: "You will win one of these trophies one day my friend. "Keep working hard."
The Manchester City midfielder also became the first player to win football's most prestigious individual prize while playing for an English club since Cristiano Ronaldo in 2008.
He played an integral role in City's fourth consecutive Premier League title triumph, with Pep Guardiola's side not tasting defeat in the 34 league games that Rodri featured in.
"A very special day, for me, my family and my country," Rodri said. "I'd like to tell you an anecdote the story that led me here.
"When I was 17-years-old, I packed up my suitcases and I went to Villarreal with a dream to work in the Premier League.
"One day I called my father crying telling him it was all over and that I had invested my life to get here and I had the feeling that, this was it.
"My father said we had come all the way here, let's keep going and this is something that changed my mindset and now, here I am.
"I am a normal boy who never gets carried away with stereotypes. Hard work is what matters."
The Spaniard is out of action for the rest of the season after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury against Arsenal back in September.
Rodri was helped up on stage by Didier Drogba to claim the accolade, with the midfielder having arrived at the ceremony on crutches, and provided an update on his recovery.
"I am just trying to take care of myself. Rest, enjoy the free time with my family and come back stronger," he says.
Rodri wins the Ballon d'Or: Why the Man City maestro scooped the prize
While many expected Vinicius Junior to be crowned the world's best player at Monday's Ballon d'Or ceremony, there was a late twist as Manchester City's Rodri took the prize.
The honour – considered the most prestigious individual gong in world football – comes after Rodri placed fifth in the voting for the 2023 edition, won by Lionel Messi.
Since 2022, voting for the award has been based off contenders' performances in the previous season, with Rodri rewarded for a 2023-24 campaign in which he led City to Premier League glory before shining in Spain's Euro 2024 triumph.
Here, we delve into the Opta data to see how the midfielder came to be recognised as the world's best player.
Season unbeaten
Rodri's importance to Pep Guardiola's all-conquering City side is well-established, but the 2023-24 campaign saw it made clear like never before.
City did not taste defeat in the 34 Premier League games in which Rodri featured, winning 27 and drawing seven. When Rodri was absent, they only won one of four matches, losing the other three.
The champions averaged 2.6 goals per game with Rodri involved compared to 1.5 without him, also conceding 0.9 times per outing with the Spaniard and 1.3 times without him.
They collected 2.6 points per game when Rodri featured, compared to 0.8 when he did not – that latter tally would equate to 30.4 over a full 38-game campaign, just more than 18th-placed Luton Town's tally of 26 from 2023-24.
Each of City's last four Premier League defeats have come when Rodri was absent, with the Spaniard now unbeaten in an incredible 52 top-flight appearances (42 wins, 10 draws) since a 1-0 defeat to Tottenham in February 2023.
It is no wonder, then, that City were so devastated to lose him to the anterior cruciate ligament injury he suffered in September's 2-2 draw with Arsenal, ending his 2024-25 season prematurely.
The driving force
Rodri has long been viewed as the glue holding City's talented midfield together, but 2023-24 felt like the moment when he stepped up to become a real matchwinner.
Having decided the 2023 Champions League final in City's favour with his goal against Inter, Rodri enjoyed the most prolific season of his career last term.
His eight league goals bettered his previous best of seven from 2021-22, while he also managed nine assists – also his highest in any campaign across Europe's top five leagues.
He finished with nine goals and 13 assists across all competitions. Just Erling Haaland (38), Phil Foden (27), Julian Alvarez (19) and Bernardo Silva (12) outscored him for City, while only Kevin De Bruyne (17) registered more assists. Not bad for a defensive midfielder.
Rodri also enhanced his reputation as a big-game player with several decisive strikes, from a vital equaliser in a 1-1 draw with Chelsea to a result-clinching drive against West Ham on the final day, as City edged out Arsenal for the title.
He also did his job in terms of keeping things ticking over, setting new Premier League records (from 2003-04 onwards) for successful passes (3,359) and successful passes in the opposition’s half (2,122) in a single season.
First for City, fourth for La Roja
Rodri's Ballon d'Or triumph is the first by any City player, with Erling Haaland notably missing out to Messi in 2023. It also ends a 16-year wait for a Premier League player to claim the prize, with Cristiano Ronaldo the last to do so while with Manchester United in 2008.
Having been named Player of the Tournament as Spain claimed a record-breaking fourth European crown at Euro 2024, Rodri also made his mark on the international stage.
He is the first Spanish player to win football's top individual honour since 1960, and just the third to do so overall.
Real Madrid icon Alfredo Di Stefano won the prize twice after switching allegiance from Argentina, in 1957 and 1959.
This year's award was also notable for the absence of Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo from the 30-man shortlist, and Rodri is just the third player from outside that duo to claim the trophy since 2008, alongside Luka Modric in 2018 and Karim Benzema in 2022.
He and Modric are the only non-attackers, meanwhile, to triumph since 2007, when Kaka edged out Ronaldo and Messi to be recognised as the world's best.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
