Rodrygo: “Practically everything was done with Barcelona”
Rodrygo held an interview with GE Globo and discussed how his move to Real Madrid happened. The Brazilian recalled how he was inches away from signing for Barcelona and how Los Blancos entered the race in the final minute.
Rodrygo mentioned how he had a verbal agreement with Barcelona, and that his father was eager for him to sign with the Catalan side. However, the young forward had other plans in mind.
“Practically everything was done with Barcelona, we just needed to sign. I asked my dad: ‘Is there nothing from Real Madrid?’ There was nothing. I asked to wait for the weekend because we had a game and said ‘I’m going to tear it up and Real Madrid will notice me.’”
“My father got mad at me. ‘Are you kidding me? We have an offer from Barcelona. You’re going to play with Messi and you want me to wait?’”
“I went to the game, I scored 3 goals and gave an assist. During the game, Real Madrid called my father.”
“The next day, my father left without saying anything. He came back later, went straight into my room, and had a Real Madrid and a Barcelona shirt. He threw them to me and said: ‘Choose.’ I didn’t even think about it, I picked Real Madrid.”
The Selecao star went on to talk about Real Madrid president Florentino Perez and revealed that he is an extremely down-to-earth individual.
“Florentino has a lot of respect for us, you can see it in the way he speaks. He was one of those that most surprised me with all the power he has and the way he treats everyone. Always attentive and kind to everyone. He’s not all that he is for no reason.”
Rodrygo then went on to talk about the press and how some of them like creating negativity.
“There’s a lot of pressure on us from the press. I don’t know how to explain it. I feel the journalists who support Real Madrid are very supportive, but those who don’t support us are always lying and getting in the way.”
“All of Spain and Europe unite against Real Madrid. We have our supporters but, for those who don’t support us, it’s not just any club. It’s hated.”
