Luis de la Fuente believes that both Rodri and Dani Carvajal have "earned the right" to win the Ballon d'Or after being named on this year's shortlist.
The duo are two of six Spain players on the list after they won a record-breaking fourth European Championship title with a 2-1 triumph over England in Berlin in July.
Rodri was named the Player of the Tournament for Euro 2024 after leading the team from midfield in all but one of their seven games, though he was forced off injured at half-time in the final.
At a domestic level, he did not taste defeat in any of his 34 Premier League games last season (27 wins, seven draws) as Manchester City won a historic fourth consecutive title, with the Citizens losing three of the four games he missed (one win).
Meanwhile, Carvajal also won LaLiga, the Copa del Rey and the Champions League with Real Madrid last season, scoring the opening goal in the latter competition’s final to help them to a 2-0 win over Borussia Dortmund.
In doing so, he became the first defender to score in a Champions League final since Sergio Ramos in 2015-16, also for Los Blancos.
And De la Fuente says they should both be among the leading contenders to scoop up the Ballon d'Or for their achievements.
"Both Rodri and Dani Carvajal have without doubt earned the right," De la Fuente told the Guardian.
"If after everything they have done, they're not considered, it would be a huge injustice. They've done more than enough. Not just now, but everything.
"Look at Dani: six Champions Leagues?! What on earth is that? Rodri has a Champions League, more to come, and I don't know how many leagues. They're European champions.
"Do they deserve to win it? Of course. I'm championing them, asking for it for them. They've won it all."
Lamine Yamal, who was also a key figure at just 16 years old for Spain during the Euros, is also on the shortlist for the individual award.
The youngster enjoyed a breakout tournament in Germany, becoming the youngest player to appear in a Euros or World Cup final at 17, surpassing Pele's record from 1958.
He also became the youngest player to score at the European Championships, and provided four assists, the joint-most any player has ever registered at the tournament that Opta has on record (from 1980 onwards).
De la Fuente says he knew there was something special about Yamal, which is why he was not afraid to take a chance on him.
"Faith in young players isn't an act, it's a conviction," he added. "When you see talent, play them, even if they're young.
"Lamine is very good. It's true what I said: that he's touched by God's wand.
"There are players that are different. I don't want to get into those comparisons, because I know we're going to start [that], and they're different footballers, different eras. But the talent? Pfff … there's something that sets them apart.
"The super mega cracks, football geniuses, those who [made] history, all have something. At that young age, they all seemed different, older."
Spain begin their Nations League defence on Thursday against Serbia, before facing Switzerland in League A Group 4 on Sunday.
McClaren happy with spirit, energy of players heading into first game of 2024-25 Nations League- “It’s been great”
Head coach of the Jamaica Men’s National Football Team, commonly referred to as the “Reggae Boyz,” Steve McClaren, spoke glowingly of his squad’s energy and enthusiasm ahead of their 2024-25 CONCACAF Nations League opener against Cuba at the National Stadium in Kingston on Friday.
McClaren, who was most recently part of Manchester United as a first team coach, was hired by Jamaica in July to replace Heimir Hallgrimsson, who has since taken up the role as manager of the Republic of Ireland.
The 63-year-old former Newcastle United and FC Twente coach will open his stint as manager of a Reggae Boyz unit who finished third in last season’s Nations League under Hallgrimsson, their best ever finish in the competition.
“Looking forward to it,” McClaren said in a pre-match press conference on Thursday.
“It’s been a long build-up since I first came over to Jamaica,” he added.
One thing that McClaren spoke glowingly of about his players is the energy and spirit he’s seen amongst the group ahead of Friday’s game, an important factor in any winning unit.
“It was nice to get into camp, meet the players, get on the grass and lose my voice from shouting too much. It’s been great. From the first day the players came in, it’s been great energy and spirit amongst them. They’ve shown that on the training field and we need to transfer what we’ve done this week onto the field tomorrow to get a result against Cuba,” he said.
Ahead of his first game in charge of the Reggae Boyz at home, McClaren, despite his 23 years of managerial experience, is feeling the nerves as is customary with anyone starting a new job in any profession.
“Always. I like that. It means you’re ready for the game. That’s what football is all about, doesn’t matter what level. When you play, you don’t quite know what’s going to happen. It’s football,” he said.
“We can control the controllable which we’ve tried to do. We just have to keep things simple. I’m going to concentrate tomorrow on the performance. If we get the performance from the players, normally you get the win,” he added.
When questioned about the style of coaching fans can expect to see from him going forward, apart from jokingly saying a “winning” coach, McClaren emphasized a focus on the basics and building on what has been done over the last two years.
“I’m quite a flexible, adaptable coach. I like the fundamentals. I like the basics. I like people knowing and doing their jobs, working hard, having a good attitude and being hard to beat. I think that’s the platform of all performances,” he said.
“If you’re easy to beat, too stretched and can’t defend, you don’t win football matches. That is what the team have developed over the last two years and I like that. It gives us a platform. We need to build from that platform now,” he added.
Scotland must aspire for Nations League success to 'feel the love', says Robertson
Andy Robertson insists that Scotland must right their wrongs from a dismal Euro 2024 campaign to ensure they "feel the love again" from supporters.
Robertson, who led Scotland in Germany, was powerless to stop their group stage exit as their wait for knockout football at an international tournament went on.
After surpassing George Young's record for the most caps as Scotland captain in June, the Liverpool full-back will wear the armband for their two Nations League games.
Steve Clarke's side welcome Poland to Hampden Park on Thursday before travelling to Lisbon to face Portugal three days later.
"The summer was a low for all of us," Robertson said. "But we have to move on from it. We have to be positive, otherwise it's pointless being here. We have to believe.
"Okay, we might have some doubters again within our country. Our country was right behind us in the summer.
"We get they're disappointed and now it's up to us to drag them along with us again.
"It's up to us to show on the pitch we're willing to fight, win games, and put in the hard yards.
"If we do that, we know our fans will come with us as well."
Robertson spoke at length with his head coach ahead of their upcoming campaign and said it was the first time a review of a camp had more negatives than positives.
Scotland proved they could compete with Europe's elite nations during their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign, finishing second behind Spain in Group A, who went on to win the tournament, losing just one of their eight qualifying matches.
They have also impressed in the Nations League, winning 10 of their 16 matches in the competition (D2 L4), with their 62.5% win ratio the best of any nation in the tournament.
Clarke has also introduced the likes of Vancouver Whitecaps attacker Ryan Gauld and Robertson's Liverpool team-mate Ben Doak, who is currently on loan at Middlesbrough for their next two fixtures.
And the 30-year-old believes those additions will help his side in the forward areas, but acknowledges they need to be more consistent against the best in the business.
"We know that's what we need to improve - that's the next step for us," Robertson continued.
"That's us been to two tournaments now and only got two draws. We've not progressed the way we would have liked.
"We need to look at that. And in the build up when we played the stronger nations like England and France we didn't show how good we can be.
"But also not that far in the past we beat the European champions here at Hampden, we also beat a really good Denmark team. We competed against Spain away as well.
"We need to get more consistent at doing it. We've done it previously but not all the time. That's what we need to get better at, especially at tournaments."
'It's the right call' - Walker accepts England omission
Kyle Walker believes Lee Carsley made "the right call" leaving him out of England's party for their upcoming Nations League matches.
Carsley named his first England squad last week, with Walker one of the notable absences after being a pivotal figure under Gareth Southgate.
The right-back made 70 appearances under the previous manager, starting 64 of those, and featured in all seven of England's games at Euro 2024 as they reached the final.
However, since returning to Manchester City after an extended break, Walker has played just two minutes in the Premier League, coming off the bench in their 3-1 win over West Ham last weekend.
Walker admitted that while he was unhappy to be left out of the fold, he understood why he was not given a place.
"I'm disappointed," Walker said on his BBC podcast. "You have to accept it and just try to prove them wrong.
"With a new manager, you are always expecting a few changes. I'm disappointed because to represent your country is always the highest thing.
"But I haven't played any minutes this season, so you have to take it on the chin. I've not performed at any level since coming back from the [Euros], so I think it's the right call from him."
England start their Nations League campaign against the Republic of Ireland on Saturday before hosting Finland on Tuesday.
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