Soccer

Spanish star Rodri declares Euro triumph ‘best day’ of his career

The 28-year-old Manchester City midfielder was named player of the tournament.

Spain’s Rodri celebrates after victory over England in the Euro 2024 final.
Spain’s Rodri celebrates after victory over England in the Euro 2024 final. (Bradley Collyer/PA)
By Mark Mann-Bryans, PA, Berlin

Manchester City midfielder Rodri hailed the “best day” of his career as he helped Spain to win Euro 2024 with victory over England in Sunday’s final.

Spain secured their fourth European Championship crown with a 2-1 win at Berlin’s Olympiastadion as Mikel Oyarzabal’s late strike was enough to wrap up the result.

Rodri was named player of the tournament in Germany, despite going off injured at half-time of the final.

The 28-year-old has won four Premier League titles, the FA Cup and Champions League with City where he starred in their historic treble-winning season of 2022/23.

But Rodri insists being crowned kings of the continent with Spain eclipses those achievements, given they beat Italy, France, Germany and England to lift the trophy.

“This is probably the best day of my career,” he said.

“We are European champions, as difficult as that is. We have become Europe’s most successful national team.

“Previous generations showed us the way. In sport, as in life, when you leave it all out there, you are rewarded.”

He continued: “We have made history, beating four former world champions in the process. We got through the toughest draw and it speaks for the mentality of the team.

“This has been cultivated. Many of us were champions at Under-17, Under-19, Under-21 level… (head coach) Luis de la Fuente knew what he was doing.”

While Rodri was named player of the tournament, Nico Williams picked up the player of the match award for his display in the final.

The Athletic Bilbao forward opened the scoring just 69 seconds after the interval and admitted the victory could take some time to sink in.

Spain’s Nico Williams celebrates after opening the scoring against England in the Euro 2024 final
Spain’s Nico Williams celebrates after opening the scoring against England in the Euro 2024 final (Bradley Collyer/PA)

“Right now, we are not really aware of what we’ve done,” said Williams.

“We return to Spain tomorrow and then we’ll be able to enjoy this with the fans who have always given us love and warmth. We’ve made history.

“Every footballer dreams of a moment like this. This is for everybody who believed in me from the very beginning.”