Rodrygo reveals former Barcelona transfer agreement

Rodrygo has revealed he had an agreement to join Barcelona before he opted to sign for Clasico rivals Real Madrid.

The Brazilian youngster made his name in his homeland with Santos before joining Los Blancos in 2019 for around £40m. He has since won seven trophies with the club, including Champions League and La Liga titles.

While he has enjoyed success at the Bernabeu in recent years, Rodrygo has claimed only a late move from Real prompted him to join the Madrid giants over the Catalans.

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.”

Rodrygo scored in the semi final victory over Al Ahly at the Club World Cup before Real beat Al Hilal in the final to win the tournament. 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.

If required, Rodrygo said he would step up again for spot kicks at both club and international level despite missing in Brazil’s World Cup exit to Croatia late last year.

“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.”