Once again, Real Madrid turned to Rodrygo Goes in their hour of need. As Los Blancos trailed Atletico Madrid in Thursday night’s derby, Carlo Ancelotti looked to his bench for their supersub. He did not disappoint, slicing through the Atleti defence and scoring a wondrous goal.
The Brazilian acted as an impact player to the most remarkable results last season, playing an instrumental part in their Champions League triumph. Scoring in both the quarter-finals and the semi-finals, his brace in the dying moments against Manchester City will live long in the memory of the Santiago Bernabeu.
Yet when it came to the final, it won’t have gone unnoticed by the 22-year-old that he saw just a single minute of action against Liverpool.
This season he has played more often, starting 18 games and appearing in all but two at the start of the season due to fitness issues. There is still a sense though that he has no pathway into the ‘gala XI’ as it is often described.
Of the four games played against Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, Rodrygo only started the one against Los Colchoneros that Karim Benzema was not fit for. The Frenchman’s fitness issues have likely contributed to the increase in minutes and starts, but now that he is back, Rodrygo is on the outside looking in for the big games again. He only saw five minutes of the European Supercup final too.
Apropos of those details, Todofichajes say that Rodrygo may look for an exit if Carlo Ancelotti remains at the helm next season. The Brazilian does not understand why he is not preferred over others performing worse than him – the report says that the relationship between them has become almost non-existent.
The club are aware of this and have nudged both in the direction of reconciliation, but Rodrygo is being monitored closely by Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain. If he was to push for an exit, and €80m turned up at the Santiago Bernabeu, then Florentino Perez would sanction a move too.
Ancelotti has in the past said that he sees Rodrygo moving centrally, but it does appear difficult for him to win a starting spot in this side. His best opportunity would be on the right ahead of Fede Valverde, but removing the Uruguayan alters the entire structure of the side. Valverde does plenty of running for the likes of Luka Modric and Toni Kroos, while also locking down opposing left-backs defensively.
The 63-year-old Italian showed faith in Vinicius at the start of last season, giving him confidence and consistency, which elevated him to become one of the best in the world. As things stand, it is hard to see Ancelotti removing one of Benzema or Valverde to do the same for Rodrygo, at least in the big games. Without that, it is tricky to see how he takes the next step in his development.
Whether it is Ancelotti or Rodrygo, or a change of team structure, it does seem as if something needs to change in order for Goes to be content with his role again.
Liverpool?
Hoo boy.
Cue the Rodrygo for Salah rumors.