Rodrygo spoke at length to AS about his path at Real Madrid, the hard moments he lived through, and his wish to keep winning with the club.
He touches on his early days at Castilla, his debut at the Bernabeu, the help he received in tough times, and his view of teammates and coaches.
The interview began with former manager Carlo Ancelotti. Notably, Ancelotti nearly left coaching after saying goodbye to Real Madrid, but he told Rodrygo one line that stuck: “Br azil is the Madrid of national teams.”
Did that excitement reach Rodrygo? He made the point with honesty, stating,
"We talked, but he always made clear his respect for Madrid while he was in charge of the team and didn’t want to do anything that might upset the club."
"When the CBF, Madrid, and he reached an agreement, he did convey his excitement about taking on this challenge. He is very excited, and so are we."
Before joining the first team, Rodrygo got his first taste of life at Valdebebas with Castilla and loved it.
"I remember playing my first game in Valdebebas with Castilla and scoring a good goal. And I was sent off for celebrating.”"
His senior debut could not have gone better. He remembers that moment clearly: “Yes, it was very special. I remember it as if it were today.
"I’ll never forget when Zidane called me to tell me I was going to play my first game at the Bernabeu. I didn’t imagine it would happen so soon."
"I’d dreamed about it my whole life, but when the moment arrives, you get really nervous."
"I remember Casemiro passed me the ball, I controlled it well, dribbled and put it in the net. It was a good finish. It was a perfect debut."
On Zidane himself, he said, "He was a normal person, but he impressed me. I looked at him and said, Zidane is talking to me."
"At 18, everything was new to me, and it was all quite impressive. It took me a while to get used to it and accept that he was just my coach."
Rodrygo did not hide that last season hit him hard off the field. Despite starting the season on a bright note, he struggled for form in the second half of the season and was eventually dropped due to fitness concerns.
"The truth is, I had a very difficult time on a personal level. I went a long time without speaking to anyone. No one knew what I was going through."
"It was a very difficult time. I wasn’t well, either physically or mentally. That was really hard for me."
" Ancelotti helped me get through all that. He told me: “Just stay here calmly, you’re not fit to play now.” I thanked him and asked to play. But he knew he had to recover the person before the player."
"Whenever I can, I thank Carletto, his son Davide, and the coaching staff. Everyone helped me, and of course my family."
Throughout the summer transfer window, Rodrygo was linked with a move away, with Manchester City and Liverpool linked with the forward.
Addressing the same, he was clear and proud to stay, “What happened last summer? I always told the club I want to stay here, and keep winning titles.
"I already won 2 UCLs, but I want more with this club. The club always told me that I’m in their plans, and whenever I had any problem, they were there for me."
"The rumours last summer didn’t bother me, because I was completely focused on Madrid, and I knew that I’m locked in to have my best season ever."
"I’ve always said it, as long as Real Madrid want me, I’ll stay at Real Madrid.The day they tell me ‘Rodry, go find another club’, then I’ll say OK. But they haven’t told me that."
While speaking on his role under the new coach, Xabi Alonso, he made his choice clear,
"When the manager arrived, he called me in to talk and said, “I know you like playing on the left, but I’m going to need you in other positions too."
"I told him, “Okay, manager, I’m here to help the team.” Everyone knows I prefer to play on the left, but I’m always available to play anywhere."
Real Madrid lost the first Madrid derby of the season 2-5 and Rodrygo made it clear that this type of result is unacceptable.
"We all agree. It cannot be repeated and it will not be repeated, that’s for sure. It was a horrible day for us, but it won’t happen again. We lost 5-2, I’m not stupid, we can’t say anything."
On team-mates and awards, he added praise for Kylian Mbappe and honesty on voting.
"Yes, the truth is that we link up very well together and he’s really good. I love playing with him."
"He has incredible speed. Every day he’s getting faster and finishing better. He’s a football phenomenon. It’s a pleasure to have him on our team."
He also gave his opinion on the Ballon d’Or. Vinicius Jr. was close to winning it last year, but the honour ultimately went to Rodri instead.
However, he did note that this year’s voting was fair, as Ousmane Dembele deserved it.
"Well, it’s difficult to talk about this award, and I don’t really like doing so. If it’s for the player who had the best season, then it’s true that this year it was fair. I would have voted for Dembele too."
Finally, on Luka Modric, he paid clear respect,
"Luka’s mentality is crazy. These years with him were incredible for me, learning from him and enjoying playing with a player of his quality."
"I always liked watching him play, but when I was close to him and shared a dressing room with him, I was even more impressed."
"He’s really good, honestly. He does everything well. He’s 40 years old and still playing at a high level, it’s really incredible," he concluded.