An event that, for years, has played out as a bit of a drab formality under the bright lights of a Parisian theatre until someone says “And the winner is...
Lionel Messi !” (Or sometimes Ronaldo if he decided to score 500 goals that season), this year’s Ballon d’Or ceremony featured a little bit of spice for once. Vinicius Jr protested the winner on social media , Real Madrid boycotted the whole affair and, for some reason, former Fulham and Everton legend Ademola Lookman was in the mix. To top it all, a defensive midfielder who tucks his shirt into his shorts, wears black boots and doesn’t own a phone won the whole thing! Oh, and for the elite players who did decide to show up, there were a few beautiful watches on display, too.
As a proper midfield general with a knack for a Roy of the Rovers piledriver into the bottom left hand corner and a tactical foul always at the ready, Rodri accepted the greatest personal accolade in football wearing a suitably classic and, relatively speaking, understated watch. One of the original luxury stainless steel sports models, the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak has been a bit of a grail since its 1972 debut. One of Gerald Genta’s original masterpieces, which he allegedly designed over the course of one night, it was inspired by the shape of early diver’s helmets, with an octagonal bezel and a textured ‘tapisserie’ dial.
In the years since, the Royal Oak has been reimagined using all sorts of ambitious materials and colour schem.
