When Real Madrid take on Barcelona on Matchday 35 in LaLiga with only a win being enough to keep their slim titles hopes alive, the future of one of their biggest names will be on the line.
Rodrygo Goes is seriously considering leaving Los Blancos this summer, as the fears before the season of him falling down the pecking order and becoming frustrated with his role are coming to fruition.
It's been a poor season for Rodrygo, who has fallen behind at Real Madrid both because of the arrival of Kylian Mbappe and because of a lack of team play and short-area exchanges around the box that became the hallmark of the Brazilian's importance in Madrid.
Although there was hope that Carlo Ancelotti would adjust things to make the Brazilian more important to the team, it's been impossible to find that role without stacking the formation too much in the middle of the pitch.
Even before Mbappe's arrival, finding Rodrygo's best position was always a problem, since he's so much better at finishing and creating from left, left-central, and central areas - yet the best spot for him is on the right side of the formation.
This Sunday in El Clasico with the title on the line, Real Madrid are expected to keep Rodrygo on the bench in favor of Arda Guler, who could instead play on the right side of the formation as a midfielder with Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe as the main forwards. How advanced Guler plays is uncertain, but what is certain is that he's made far more of an impact on games these last few weeks than Rodrygo has all season.
Rodrygo Goes is living off one incredible moment
It was Guler who provided the go-ahead goal with a corner against Barcelona two weeks ago. And it was Guler who provided multiple match-winning moments of quality in narrow victories against Getafe and Celta Vigo. Without Guler's goal contributions as a scorer and provider, the Clasico this Sunday would be a moot point; Real Madrid would have already lost the title.
Obviously, Rodrygo has won important matches for Real Madrid, too. Who can forget that magical night in the Champions League semifinals against Manchester City? But football, as any business, is a fickle one. It is about what you have done lately. And despite getting chance after chance, including in his favored position on the left wing, Rodrygo has failed to make a difference.
His return of six goals and five assists this season is abysmal. It is equivalent to center midfielder (and right back) Fede Valverde's goal contributions with a fraction of the overall ball progression, defensive effort, and grit. Rodrygo, supposed to be a main creator in attack, has the same number of assists as Lucas Vazquez. He only has one more assist and three more goals than Arda Guler, who has played a fraction of the minutes - and in less advance positions. He even has just one more assist than backup No. 8 Luka Modric.
Rodrygo doesn't hold the cards this Sunday. Guler does. Despite rampant speculation about his own future at Real Madrid, Guler kept his head down and fought, never once asking for a transfer and even publicly stating that he would fight in Madrid no matter what. He is the anti-Martin Odegaard and with a positional change to a deeper role, Guler has now displaced Rodrygo as the fourth superstar to make it a BMVG with Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappe, and Vinicius Junior.
And unlike Rodrygo, Guler doesn't play in the same positions as Mbappe and Vinicius Jr. He can co-exist with the others as an attacking or deep-lying playmaker or even as a deeper inverted wide playmaker in the vein of 2010s Isco.
Guler is younger, better, and even more consistent than Rodrygo, who is the highest-valued sellable asset of any player not considered a weekly starter at Real Madrid.
On Sunday, if Guler turns in another grand performance in a must-win matchup on the race to the LaLiga title, Rodrygo will be one step closer to seeking other employment.
Real Madrid put the pressure on their star players to step up or step aside this season, and whlie Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe faced more scrutiny despite twice the accomplishments to shield Rodrygo from criticism, the right winger's inability to assert himself in this hyper-competitive environment with all the stakes is what could ultimately doom him to leave.
And there's nothing wrong with being the face of a "B" team; it's just not the same as being the face of Real Madrid.