Surprise Manchester City star named as Champions League Player of the Tournament – despite Erling Haaland’s 12 goals in 11 European games that led to the title!

With just over a week to go until the Champions League draw and the start of a new season in Europe, you can think back to last season’s final.

A 1-0 win in Istanbul was all Manchester City needed to lift the trophy and tick the remaining box in their quest for a historic Treble ahead of the mother of all weekend celebrations.

Central to Man City’s triumphant season in Europe – and the festivities – was the club’s summer signing, and debutant in blue, Erling Haaland.

The Norwegian smashed Champions League records at a breakneck pace as City completed their unbeaten run in the tournament to become only the third player in competition history to score five goals in one match.

Haaland also became the youngest guest player to score 35 goals in the league, as well as the fastest. He only needed 27 games to achieve this feat with Red Bull Salzburg, Borussia Dortmund and the Cityzens.

Their unbeaten run was fueled in part by the unique talents of Erling Haaland (center) in his first season in Sky Blue

The Norwegian scored twelve goals in eleven games for the Cityzens and broke records

But despite a blistering run through the league, UEFA’s technical observers opted to name one of Haaland’s teammates as player of the tournament.

The credit instead went to 23-year-old Rodri’s tough defensive midfielder, who scored the only goal in the final to make Man City history.

The 27-year-old has been the staple of Guardiola’s side since joining the team four years ago, and somewhat of an understated superstar due to his lackluster performances that anchored the side’s midfield.

The Spain international was called up 56 times by his manager last season and missed just five games en route to the Treble, which is more times than anyone else in the squad, although Haaland came closest.

UEFA celebrated their pick – who had the most football touches in the entire competition – for his “formidable tactical acumen”, with the organization citing his “exceptional sense of pressure from the opposition when receiving the ball” as one of his many skills .

Ahead of the start of Man City’s 2023/24 season, Rodri joked that he had watched his winning goal “5,000 times”.

“In all different languages,” he added. Spanish, English, German, Italian.

“I think it’s special, it’s part of football to enjoy moments like this. Especially as a midfielder you don’t have the feeling that you are going to be decisive.’

But the midfielder had harder-to-digest comments as he criticized the squad for the upcoming season, warning of the possibility of players burning out due to the high number of domestic and international ties.

“I don’t remember exactly how many games I’ve played, but I’ve talked to the club and the coach because it’s not healthy,” said Rodri.

“You can do it one season, but if it’s two or three seasons in a row, it can be worse for the team because your physicality can decrease. So I have to watch out. We’ve already said that, it can’t always be that way.

Instead, UEFA’s Technical Observer Panel chose to award Spanish midfielder Rodri the honour

The player went on to form Pep Guardiola’s most successful side, making 56 appearances

“The most important thing for me is that they know the situation and we will have to be careful in the coming seasons,” he added.

“I’m young now, but maybe I won’t be able to do this kind of thing when I’m 30 or 31, so I have to watch my body because 60 games is not the best for a player. In addition, the seasons are getting longer every year. We have to adapt to this.’

The draw for the upcoming group stage matches of the Champions League will take place on August 31.

Man City are drawn from Pot One as the winner and the English champions.