Has Rodri ‘Completed Football’? The Elite List of Players to Win the Ultimate Quadruple
The recent coronation of Manchester City and Spain midfielder Rodri as the 2024 Ballon d’Or winner has ignited a fascinating debate among football trivia enthusiasts. Having already captured the UEFA Champions League in 2023 and the UEFA European Championship in 2024, Rodri’s individual accolade prompted a question from reader Owen Bagnall in The Guardian’s weekly trivia column, The Knowledge: has the Spaniard officially "completed football"?
While some fans occasionally confuse Rodri's 2023 FIFA Club World Cup victory with the international FIFA World Cup, the reality is that the 28-year-old midfielder still has one major piece of silverware missing from his international cabinet. To truly "complete football" by winning the prestigious quadruple—the FIFA World Cup, the continental championship (Euros or Copa América), the UEFA Champions League (formerly the European Cup), and the Ballon d'Or—is a feat reserved for an extraordinarily small, elite group of legends.
Historically, only a handful of players have ever managed to sweep all four of these honors. The blueprint was established in the 1970s by West German icons Franz Beckenbauer and Gerd Müller, who dominated both Europe and the world with Bayern Munich and the national team. Decades later, French maestro Zinedine Zidane joined this pantheon, securing the 1998 World Cup, Euro 2000, the 2002 Champions League with Real Madrid, and the 1998 Ballon d'Or. Brazil's samba superstars Rivaldo and Ronaldinho also achieved the feat, swapping the Euros for the Copa América alongside their World Cup, Champions League, and Ballon d'Or triumphs.
The most recent icon to finalize this ultimate resume is Lionel Messi, who completed the set with Argentina’s historic World Cup victory in Qatar in 2022. For Rodri, who is currently recovering from a season-ending ACL injury, the path to joining this immortal list remains open. If he can spearhead a Spanish victory at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America, he will officially transition from a modern great to a member of football's most exclusive club.