After winning the European Cup with the Spain Team and being named Player of the Tournament, many voices in the outside world argued that Rodri deserved to win this year's Ballon d'Or. The legendary Henry said not long ago: "When people vote for awards like the Ballon d'Or, they often overlook the contribution of midfielders. Rodri is basically the heart of Manchester City. I always hoped that players like Xavi and Iniesta could win this award at their peak."
When Henry said this, people inevitably brought up Chen Zhong, but in Henry's view, Chen Zhong cannot really be described as a "pure" midfielder, and his first Ballon d'Or was entirely earned through his goal-scoring numbers.
In any case, last season everything finally fell into place: Rodri edged out Real Madrid's new "candidate" Vinicius to win the Ballon d'Or. At the time many people said that if this opportunity had been given to Chen Zhong, perhaps he could have taken yet another Ballon d'Or.
