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Rodrygo reveals his former Barcelona transfer agreement.
According to Rodrygo, he had a contract to sign with Barcelona before deciding to join Clasico rivals Real Madrid.
The young Brazilian player established himself with Santos in his own country before signing with Los Blancos in 2019 for almost £40 million. Since then, including the Champions League and La Liga titles, he has won seven trophies with the team.
Rodrygo has stated that only a last-minute offer from Real convinced him to choose the Madrid giants over the Catalans, despite the fact that he has recently found success at the Bernabeu.
He told Goal: “When my father told me the news…I always tell this story. I had two shirts: one for Barça and one for Real Madrid and I had to choose. It was very easy for me to choose.
“But it was all agreed with Barcelona, it was a surprise for me, I didn’t expect Real Madrid to come. It was a scare but then it was one of the happiest moments of my life.”
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Before Real defeated Al Hilal in the Club World Cup final to win the title, Rodrygo scored in the semifinal triumph over Al Ahly.
They are back in action on Wednesday night when they host Elche before travelling to Osasuna at the weekend and Liverpool in the Champions League next week.
Real have ground to make up in the La Liga title race, sitting 11 points behind Barça having played a game fewer, while the last 16 Liverpool tie offers repeat viewings of the 2019 and 2021 UCL finals.
Despite missing in Brazil’s late-year World Cup defeat to Croatia, Rodrygo claimed he would be willing to step up again for spot kicks at the club and international levels if necessary.
“Yes, I’m always there to take responsibility. Like in the World Cup. When they asked who wanted to take the kick I was there and I will always be there. I’m never going to shirk my responsibilities.”