Fernandinho insists his former teammate is deserving of the gong.
“I am really proud of him,” he said.
“I saw him growing up, going through the process to become one of the most consistent players in the world, playing for a top team and for his national side.
“It’s really nice when you see someone really close to you winning this award.
“Obviously individually it’s a really nice award but I’m pretty sure he knows he’s got the contribution from the club and every player who helped him achieve that moment.
“Especially with the modern football, most of the people give prizes for the strikers or the players who score goals.
“But now you can see they are seeing football in a different way. It’s really nice.”
On Rodri's qualities, Fernandinho added: “The consistency, his quality with the ball, his understanding of the game, he started to read the game really well, the decisions he makes helps the team to play better, helps the other players to play better as well.
“I used to say when you have the ball you control everything so I think one of his qualities is that when he has the ball he controls everything. He makes the best decisions possible.”