What’s going on with Rodrygo at Real Madrid?
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6445808/2025/06/24/rodrygo-real-madrid-transfer-future/
Rodrygo’s name has rarely been out of the headlines in recent weeks.
When the 24-year-old Brazilian started Real Madrid’s Club World Cup opener against Al Hilal on Wednesday — and assisted Madrid’s only goal in that 1-1 draw — it was his first appearance since being replaced at half-time of the Copa del Rey final against Barcelona on April 26.
In those 53 days, speculation about Rodrygo’s situation and future escalated. There were doubts over the reasons for his absence along with rumours about a potential move to the Premier League, with Arsenal one of the clubs closely monitoring him.
New coach Xabi Alonso seemed to bring some clarity last week — but then Rodrygo played no role in Madrid’s 3-1 win against Pachuca on Sunday.
With his future up in the air, The Athletic explains what we are hearing about Rodrygo.
After the Copa del Rey final, which Madrid lost 3-2 to Barca after extra time, a report in Spanish newspaper Marca suggested that Rodrygo had told Carlo Ancelotti’s coaching staff he “did not feel strong or in the mood to play” before that game.
Multiple sources close to the club — who, like all those cited in this article, asked to remain anonymous to protect relationships — told The Athletic last season that Rodrygo sometimes lacks for motivation in training. The player’s entourage have always denied this.
But it was those concerns which led to Ancelotti and Rodrygo agreeing that the winger would not be called up to the Italian’s first Brazil squad for World Cup qualifiers against Ecuador and Paraguay this month.
Rodrygo and Ancelotti after the Intercontinental Cup final in December (Noushad Thekkayil/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
After the Clasico cup final, Rodrygo was absent for the next game, against Celta Vigo in La Liga. Both the club and the player’s camp said this was due to a fever.
A week later, Madrid visited Barca in their last attempt to keep Spain’s title race alive. Rodrygo travelled to the Catalan capital but did not play. Instead, the club’s reserve team winger Victor Munoz was given his senior debut in the 88th minute — which was particularly noteworthy given Ancelotti was not known for giving academy players many chances during his time at Madrid.
Asked how Rodrygo was doing and how the situation was seen within the dressing room, one player told The Athletic, “I don’t know, he’s such a quiet player for his things.”
After Madrid lost that Liga Clasico 4-3, Rodrygo started training with the group the day before their midweek game against Real Mallorca. But he then left for the dressing room during the 15 minutes of training open to the media, officially due to a physical problem.
Top LALIGA Stories
Real Madrid's £50m defender Dean Huijsen: The car crash, cultures and country that made him
Nico Williams, Lamine Yamal and the faction of friends at Barcelona
How Atletico missed out on a €40m opportunity with early Club World Cup exit
“Rodrygo has a fever that has not allowed him to perform at his best,” Ancelotti said at that day’s news conference. “Today, during training, he had discomfort in his leg. I don’t know which leg. He was not feeling well and did not recover well from the fever.”
On social media, meanwhile, Rodrygo responded with a message that read: “Thank you for the messages and concerns. I will be back soon. Stop creating things.”
Rodrygo missed that game and the final two matches of La Liga, but Madrid did not issue a medical report — as they tend to do for players and which they did in October and November for two injuries suffered by the Brazilian.
Rodrygo took advantage of the end of the league season to recover physically and mentally, travelling to Brazil to spend time with those close to him in Santos, the city whose club he was formed at.
This is where his father and agent Eric Goes comes into the picture.
In recent months, Eric has complained about his son’s situation to the club, which has not gone down well at various levels at Madrid.
Alonso said his Madrid side would ‘need’ Rodrygo when speaking at his unveiling (Pedro Castillo/Real Madrid via Getty Images)
Rodrygo’s father received and rejected approaches from a number of Premier League clubs through intermediaries. Teams were interested to know about Rodrygo’s situation and Arsenal were convinced they could offer him a sporting project where he could be at ease, playing on the left-hand side of attack but with the freedom to move around. He has regularly played on the right wing for Madrid, which is not his favoured position.
Arsenal are prepared to wait to determine whether Rodrygo is definitely open to leaving or not — and whether Madrid are willing to sell. But the Premier League club are mindful they cannot afford to wait indefinitely. Rodrygo is one of several wide forwards who have been under discussion at Arsenal this summer, also including the likes of Newcastle United’s Anthony Gordon and Nico Williams of Bilbao’s Athletic Club — who The Athletic reported last week has agreed personal terms with Barcelona.
Rodrygo wanted to talk to Alonso and the club before making any decision. On the day of the former Bayer Leverkusen coach’s presentation, he was asked if he had already spoken to the player.
“No,” Alonso replied. “I’m going to have a conversation with all the players because they deserve it and we need it because we have to get to know each other. That he is a spectacular player is not for me to discover. We will need him.”
When Rodrygo returned to training, sources at Madrid’s Valdebebas complex said his attitude had changed for the better. They added that Alonso was being highly attentive to him, showing respect to the player while demanding a lot from him. Those sources said that did not provide any guarantees that Rodrygo would stay this summer.
On June 10, after Madrid’s first session with Alonso in charge, Rodrygo posted a message on social media which simply read, “HAPPY” in Spanish.
https://www.instagram.com/rodrygogoes/
With Madrid having travelled to the United States, Alonso was asked in his press conference before the 1-1 draw with Al Hilal whether he had spoken to Rodrygo and knew what had recently happened with him.
“I can tell you to a point,” he said. “I know what happened, that the end of the season was not easy for him. He took some time that was good for him, to reset his head. We talked from day one and I see him looking forward to enjoying himself with his quality.”
The next day, and with Kylian Mbappe out of the squad due to a fever, Rodrygo started in attack alongside Vinicius Junior and academy striker Gonzalo Garcia. He took his opportunity, assisting Gonzalo in an otherwise disappointing draw.
It was a quietly encouraging start for Rodrygo under Alonso, even if his right-hand partnership with new signing Trent Alexander-Arnold did create problems for Madrid in defence. And his absence against Pachuca only fuelled greater speculation over his future — Gonzalo, Arda Guler, Brahim Diaz and youngster Munoz were all given minutes ahead of him. Alonso was not asked about Rodrygo in his post-match news conference.
It all means that Rodrygo’s future remains as unclear as ever. What is certain is that his situation is worth monitoring this summer.
(Top photo: Rodrygo during the match against Al Hilal; Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)
