Fabian Ruiz among world’s best as midfielder win historic double

Fabian Ruiz has completed a historic and rare double, winning both the Champions League and the World Cup in the same season. Ruiz was of course part of the PSG squad that retained the European Cup two months ago, and now just featured in the 2026 World Cup final for his national side Spain who triumphed against Lionel Messi's Argentina, and complete a remarkable double following their victory in the 2024 Euros.

Should Fabian Ruiz be considered for the Ballon d'Or?

Other players to have achieved this include Julian Alvarez in 2022 (Champions League with Manchester City and World Cup with Argentina), Raphael Varane in 2018 (Champions League with Real Madrid and World Cup with France) and Roberto Carlos in 2002 (Champions League with Real Madrid and World Cup with Brazil). It is indeed, a rare and illustrious feat that truly does not come around very often.

Ruiz has been in and out of the Spain side over the whole tournament, but now seems to have found his spot starting, having commenced on the field in both of the last two games for Spain.

Ruiz’s role in the heart of the Spanish midfield is not too dissimilar to that which he occupies at PSG, although for his national side he forms more of a two-man partnership with Rodri, with Dani Olmo occupying central space further forwards, whereas for PSG Ruiz occupies a three-man midfield alongside Vitinha and Joao Neves. For both club and country, however, Ruiz is a player who often crashes late into the box – having contributed to important goals for his club over the last couple of successful seasons, and having notched one goal at this World Cup, which came in the Quarter Final, against Belgium.

Perhaps even more impressive is the fact that Ruiz has displaced Pedri in the heart of the Spanish midfield, an incredibly impressive feat given just how highly the youngster from Barcelona is rated. However, Rodri’s presence as the sitting midfielder among Spain’s central trio means that Ruiz often has the licence to float further forwards, something which he is more adept at doing compared to the Barcelona man.

Some talk of a Ballon D’or has been floated around Ruiz, and if his game tonight is successful, he certainly will be in contention (especially considering that Rodri won the award two years ago after a successful Euro campaign). The biggest obstacle for Ruiz would be his injury record: he did miss a not inconsiderable portion of last season with recurring injuries, and didn’t feature in a number of Champions League knock out matches – with Warren Zaire-Emery often featuring in his place.

Other than Ruiz, PSG fans will have their eyes on former Paris Saint-Germain stars Lionel Messi and Leandro Paredes tonight, both of whom will be part of an Argentina squad desperate to stop Ruiz from completing this impressive achievement.

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