Rodrygo ‘agreed’ Barcelona transfer before Real Madrid ‘surprise’

Suraj Radia

• 14 Feb 2023 19:51 GMT
• 2 min read

Rodrygo has revealed he had agreed to join rivals Barcelona before Real Madrid made a late ‘surprise’ move to sign him in 2019.

The forward joined Los Blancos for €45 million, becoming one of the most expensive teenagers of all-time in the process, with Real desperate to secure the signing of the highly-rated Flamengo youngster.

Rodrygo has since gone onto become a regular starter for both club and country, featuring in the 2022 World Cup for Brazil and scoring seven times in all competitions for Real this season.

REVEALED: Rodrygo's 'rage' at Real Madrid this season

Both Real and Barca have often come head-to-head in signing South America’s most prized youngsters and Rodrygo was close to following Neymar in turning down the Madrid side to play for the Catalans, but for a late ‘scare’ which sealed his future.

Rodrygo said: “When my father told me the news... I always tell this story. I had two shirts: one for Barca 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: Real miss Casemiro

Rodrygo also opened up about how Real Madrid ‘miss’ Casemiro following the midfielder’s £70m move to Manchester United last summer.

Casemiro joined United after nine years in Madrid where he won 18 trophies, including five Champions League titles.

BARGAIN!: Man Utd fans rave over Casemiro performances

When asked how much Real missed Casemiro, Rodrygo said: “In everything, in everything. He is very much missed for us, because he always helped us a lot both on the pitch and off it.

“Because we are young and we need a lot of things and he, because he’s been with us for a long time, just like Marcelo, they both always helped us and we miss them both.”