Manchester City midfielder, Rodri proved to be the match-winner for Man City in Saturday’s tightly contested final against a spirited Inter side, firing a wonderfully struck side-footed effort past Andre Onana in the 68th minute of the game.
The 26-year-old’s game-winning contribution in the final, and his generally fantastic play throughout the 2022/23 season for Man City, especially in Europe, have deservedly led to UEFA’s Technical Observer panel naming the midfielder as this season’s UCL standout performer.
As well as winning the Player of the Season award, Rodri was also one of seven Manchester City players named in UEFA’s Team of the Season.
The Spaniard is joined by teammates Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias, John Stones, Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Erling Haaland.
City completed a historic treble by winning the Champions League on Saturday in Istanbul, having also won the Premier League and FA Cup recently – beating arch-rivals Man Utd in the FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium.
The non-Man City inclusions in UEFA’s Champions League team of the season were Alessandro Bastoni, Federico Dimarco, Thibaut Courtois and Vinicius Junior.
UEFA also announced Napoli star Khvicha Kvaratskhelia as the Champions League Young Player of the Season award, having scored two goals and assisting four during his maiden campaign in Europe’s elite competition.
UEFA Champions League team of the season
POSITION | PLAYER |
|---|---|
GK | Thibaut Courtois |
DEF | Kyle Walker |
DEF | Ruben Dias |
DEF | Alessandro Bastoni |
DEF | Federico Dimarco |
MID | John Stones |
MID | Rodri |
MID | Kevin De Bruyne |
FWD | Bernardo Silva |
FWD | Erling Haaland |
FWD | Vinicius Junior |
