Real Madrid fans are preparing for the unveiling of Kylian Mbappe as the next superstar at the Santiago Bernabeu, and it will be quite the moment to take in. Los Merengues have been pursuing Mbappe for years, and they are finally in a position to pry him away from the French capital.
In the meantime, Los Blancos are juggling the rest of their squad as they await the French attacker’s arrival. Alvaro Odriozola – and maybe a few other out-of-favor players- could be headed to Serie A. There will be a crowd of options at forward, and Madridistas will have to wait and see if anyone leaves before the window ends.
Speaking on El Transistor, Alberto Pereiro stated that while Vinicius Junior remains unsellable, Rodrygo Goes and Marco Asensio both could leave.
Asensio is coming off a dreadful season and is no longer a fit on the right wing. Carlo Ancelotti will try transitioning him to the midfield, but few should have high hopes for him, given his poor defensive work rate.
As for Rodrygo, he is a surprise to see on the list of forwards who could be sold. Vinicius Junior has taken the spotlight with his three goals to start the season in less than an hour of play, but here are three reasons why the other young Brazilian winger at Real Madrid should not be sold either.
Rodrygo Goes has Real Madrid-level quality
It took mere seconds for Rodrygo Goes to show Real Madrid fans the kind of player he can be at the Santiago Bernabeu one day. The recently-signed man from Santos scored the second-fastest debut goal in club history, behind only the Brazilian Ronaldo, as he made a run up the pitch and cooly curled the ball past Osasuna’s keeper as a game-changing substitute. Just months later, he nailed a perfect hat-trick in the Champions League vs. Galatasaray.
Rodrygo had some good matches in the 2020-2021 season before suffering an injury in late December. He was breathtaking on the left side, full of chance-creation on the right, and even an impact sub off the bench.
While Rodrygo is not as electrifying as Vinicius on the ball, he is not that far off when he plays on the left-hand side in his preferred position. But because Vini is not as able to play on the right as Rodrygo, those chances come few and far between.
With six assists in LaLiga last season, Rodrygo showed he can make a difference in the final third. Technically, he’s fantastic, and he is a very intelligent and polished 20-year-old winger who is seemingly good at everything. With Kylian Mbappe on the left, Rodrygo could actually take another step forward with more space to operate on the right.
Rodrygo is already good enough to be a piece of the puzzle for Real Madrid, and he has a ton of potential. Selling him would be a huge mistake.
Real Madrid wouldn’t get fair value by selling Rodrygo Goes
Now this reason goes into more business pragmatism as compared to the first reason, which was specifically about Rodrygo Goes’ current and projected quality as a footballer.
Real Madrid made a significant investment in Rodrygo, signing him for 50 million euros in the summer 2019 transfer window. Los Blancos are already willing to part ways with an investment from that window in Luka Jovic, who cannot find a spot in the squad and is not deemed a fit. Swallowing a 60 million euro loss there is fine, since Jovic has less upside to Real and higher wages than Rodrygo.
But selling Rodrygo would be unconscionable at this stage. There is no way they get fair market value for Rodrygo. His recent production is not worth 50 million euros to another club, so Real would get a low-ball offer at the end of the transfer window in a pandemic market in which teams are not interested in making investment signings.
Rodrygo could do very well on a loan, in which case Real would get him back at no risk of losing him and would watch him develop with more minutes on the left. In that case, Rodrygo could significantly boost his transfer value so that if Real truly felt they no longer had a place for him in the squad, they would at least get a fair return on his sale.
That would not be the case if Rodrygo were to be sold in 2021. From a business perspective, giving up on an investment and trying to cash in now would be so ridiculous that the idea of selling Rodrygo should not even be entertained one bit.
Real Madrid need Rodrygo’s versatility
Rodrygo brings a large number of positive qualities to the table for Real Madrid. He assists, he has a cool head in front of goal, he is skilled on the ball, he works hard defensively, he makes the right decisions off the ball, and he’s very agile when cutting in from the left.
But above all else, Rodrygo’s versatility is the real difference-maker here, especially when it comes to Carlo Ancelotti assessing his options. As of right now, Real only have a couple of legitimate options at the right wing position. Gareth Bale is one of them, but he is prone to injury. Asensio is another, but he cannot dribble effectively enough to play this position. And so Rodrygo is the most consistent option and one of the only two (Bale being the other) that Ancelotti can actually consider most weeks.
On top of that, Rodrygo is one of the options on the left or in another forward position, as there is a chance he could be a backup in a central role if both Jovic and Mariano are sold.
Rodrygo can conceivably play all three forward positions in the Real Madrid 4-3-3. The left side is not much of an issue if we assume Kylian Mbappe is coming to the Santiago Bernabeu, but the right side would be a massive issue if Rodrygo were to leave. Because then, Bale would be the top option with Asensio, who is no longer a winger, as his main backup in the case of injury.
If the other two reasons were not compelling enough, then Rodrygo’s versatility and importance to the club’s depth on the right side of the attack should be the point that seals the deal. Real Madrid cannot lose Rodrygo.