Real Madrid has been signing talented players to fill key areas of weakness in the squad so that new manager Xabi Alonso can receive the support he needs for both the Club World Cup and the grueling LaLiga, Champions League, and Copa del Rey campaigns to come.
Last season, Real Madrid finished trophyless under Carlo Ancelotti, and they hope Alonso can bring some much-needed tactical changes while upgrading the team's ability to develop young talents.
Already, Real Madrid has brought in some big names from the Premier League to fortify a beaten-down defense, with Dean Huijsen set to start at center back in 2025/26 and Trent Alexander-Arnold ready to compete with Dani Carvajal for minutes on the right side of the back four.
But as Real Madrid try to upgrade their weaknesses, they must be prepared to lose one of their best players. There's been bubbling frustration from Rodrygo Goes's camp over the last several weeks, and elite Premier League clubs Chelsea and Arsenal have been increasingly monitoring the Brazilian international for a potential summer 2025 move.
In The Athletic's "Transfer DealSheet" piece, Real Madrid beat writer Mario Cortegana wrote that while Rodrygo and his representation won't begin negotiations with another club, like Arsenal, until the player speaks with his new manager Alonso first, Rodrygo will make two things clear to Madrid. Firstly, he wants to be important to the team. And secondly, that he wants to play on the left or in a central position.
Rodrygo will never be ahead of Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior
With each passing report like this one, it seems more and more likely that Rodrygo will leave Real Madrid this summer. Because the reality is that neither Alonso nor any other manager can fulfill both of those goals Rodrygo has.
Let's start with the second piece first. Rodrygo can't play on the left wing because Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior are superior left wingers to Rodrygo. The latter has never had a season remotely as good as either Vini's or Mbappe's best seasons, even though he is a talented player. He just has the bad luck of playing with the literal two best left wingers in the world.
OK, so then Rodrygo can play through the middle, right? The problem there is Mbappe is still a much better striker than Rodrygo, and based on what we've seen from Rodrygo as a striker in the last four seasons whenever he does start at the 9, he's not remotely good enough for that position.
Endrick is already a better striker than Rodrygo, as it is his more natural position. And Real are probably going to sign an experienced, out-and-out striker who can score goals this summer, such as Ante Budimir, basically ruling out Rodrygo as an option there.
Now, if Rodrygo wants to play as a left winger or in a central position, including in a two-forward setup like in the 2023/24 season, that is possible, but he would play fewer minutes than Mbappe and Vinicius and have to split minutes with Endrick and a new No. 9. Basically, Rodrygo would not be an important starter to Real Madrid, and, as he enters the prime years of his career, that's understandably not the best option for him.
While Rodrygo's requests are simple and sensible, Real Madrid can't accommodate them. They just can't. There are too many mouths to feed, and after Rodrygo completely wasted his opportunities with a poor 2024/25 season scoring just six goals with five assists, Rodrygo is nowhere near the top of the pecking order in Madrid anymore.
Whereas he'd be vital at a club like, say, Arsenal, and that points further to a move away from the Santiago Bernabeu being the logical move for the 24-year-old.