Rodrygo Goes only recently tore his ACL, suffering the season ending knee injury just four months ago at the beginning of March to take one of the starting three forwards away from Real Madrid. And although Florentino Perez and Madrid are driving after that true left footed star on the wings in Michael Olise and have Endrick coming back to the first team at the blessing of Jose Mourinho, Rodrygo's injury looms large.
When Kylian Mbappe first arrived at Real Madrid in 2024, you could almost sense the writing on the wall for Rodrygo. Even though Jude Bellingham demanded that the world not forget about "the R" in reference to Rodrygo and has always hyped him up, the world really has neglected Rodrygo and the fact that he was vital to two Champions League titles to Real Madrid.
Seriously, Real do not win those two Champions Leagues without the clutch factor, creativitiy, and cool head of Rodrygo, who is arguably the most talented player on the team, if you ask Jude, especially when it comes to getting out of tight jams in the box with his dribbling skills.
Real Madrid still need the R
Unselfish and always willing to take a back seat to the others, Rodrygo has been the most victimized by the glut of right footed forwards since the signing of Mbappe in 2024, and he was even contemplating leaving Real Madrid in summer 2025, getting jerked around by the infamously poor man management skills of Xabi Alonso (despite committing to Alonso in the first place).
Rodrygo is recovering from his injury, but it probably will not be until 2027 when Real Madrid fans see the Brazilian superstar back in the lineup. And the last time a young star right winger tore his ACL in Madrid, Marco Asensio was never the same and became something of a tragic "What if?" story.
Real Madrid cannot afford to have that story to repeat itself with Rodrygo, because he is way, way better than even a lot of Madridistas want to admit. Although the 25 year old has never reached superstar status in Madrid, part of that is due to circumstance, and he is not against just being second or third (or fourth) fiddle to the others.
But it is also no coincidence that Real Madrid have been at their best in the 2020s with Rodrygo out there. Who else scored that brace against Manchester City? Who was the other third of the trio when they dominated against all expectations in 2024? Rodrygo is important to this team, and if his ACL recovery goes poorly, that is devastating to Real's La Liga chances.
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