The midfield metronome captained La Roja to their second global triumph - winning the Golden Ball for the best player at the tournament - and is proud of the way he has bounced back from the serious knee injury he suffered while playing for Manchester City in 2024.

Rodri told Fox Sports following Spain's 1-0 victory against Argentina in the final: "We're a bit shocked right now, even myself. I cannot express with words. I think now we're like in a cloud but, for me, it's been a very tough time.

"I just want the new generations to see my example as an opportunity. When you go down, you can rise again. This is my philosophy for my entire life.

"Of course, sometimes things go well, things go wrong, but always the positiveness.

"I said to the lads before the game, 'We have to go for the game.' We need to face them, we have to look to their eyes. We want this game.

"And then life gives you the World Cup or not, but we were brave and I was brave in that moment I was down, so I want to thank all the people that helped me.

"But I want to thank myself, to be honest, in those moments."

Rodri also played an important role in Spain's Euro 2024 triumph and felt that the team had "matured" at this tournament as they emulated the World Cup win of 2010.

The former Ballon d'Or winner said: "I think the gap of improvement from the Euros, it was the way this team is matured.

"It's built on the game, it's built on every single day. We faced very different opponents, of course, lots of European opponents, but different moments, different type of games.

"And we managed to play all of them, so I think we grow in this sense and this talks about a generation that is making history for our country, as you can see, but also in the way we did it."