A Sticker's Worth 500 Words

Congratulations then to Rodri for winning this year’s Ballon d’Or following another season of success at Manchester City and victory for Spain in this summer’s European Championships. Some critics suggested he may have been more deserving of the award last year after City’s treble exploits while everyone in anyway affiliated with Real Madrid were so horrified by this coronation ahead of their own Vinicius Jr that they binned off the entire ceremony. Meanwhile Brazil ’s politicians described the perceived snub as “the biggest injustice in history” which is fairly hyperbolic when one considers such hideous phenomena as slavery or genocide. Amidst such controversy it would have perhaps been crass for Rodri to revel in the limelight and extol his virtues as the world’s best player. That being said it was something of a let down when he reeled off a host of bland platitudes such as “I am a very calm person until I get upset. I am just a normal guy, you don't have to be crazy." As ...

Mat Jolin-Beech takes a look at a player equally capable of brilliance and brain fade with little indication of which you’ll be getting on any given day. Then again it must be hard balancing club and international duties with the pressures of being part of one of the noughties’ biggest boy bands alongside Darren Bent . As Mat says below look at the photos. Some players are great. Some players are not. Some have careers better than their potential led them to have any right to have. Some fail to hit that potential and underwhelm massively. Then there is Nani who, somehow, managed to fall into all of the above. Plus, he is seemingly still playing. I thought he’d retired years ago. But alas, he is still playing and currently (at the time of writing at least) back in his homeland of Portugal with Estrela Amadora. As well as various trophies, he also has the accolades of being a founding member of JLS (seriously, look at photos – he’s in there), and being a full-time wind up merchant. Top o...