Real Madrid open door to €120m departure

Suraj Radia

23 Sep 2023 12:27 CDT
3 min read

Carlo Ancelotti, Real Madrid — © ProShots

Real Madrid are set to face interest from Paris Saint-Germain for one of their star players and the La Liga side could be open to a sale for the right price.

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PSG are said to be interested in Rodrygo, with previous speculation suggesting a move for the Brazilian as a ‘counter attack’ to Real’s long-term pursuit of Kylian Mbappe.

Rodrygo has established himself as a first team regular for Los Blancos since joining them in 2019 but the forward has never consistently reached the heights expected of him and teammate Vinicius Junior, whom he is often compared to.

Real had been hoping for Rodrygo to step up this season in the absence of a natural goalscorer after Karim Benzema’s departure in the summer but the 22-year-old has netted just once in five appearances so far despite being played as a striker.

While Rodrygo was considered untouchable by Real a few months ago, rumours have continued to persist that the club would be open to his departure if they received a bid of €100 million or €120m, according to Defensa Central.

Rodrygo still has the faith of Carlo Ancelotti and is still highly-rated by the club but, with a move for Mbappe still a possibility as well as wonderkid Endrick set to arrive next summer, the ex-Santos man could find himself on the firing line unless he can add more goals to his game.

Rodrygo struggling to score under pressure

Real have utilised a makeshift striker this season following Benzema’s move to Saudi Arabia, with summer signing Jude Bellingham scoring five goals in his first five La Liga games, while Joselu’s arrival on loan has provided some quality up front.

Rodrygo was expected to emerge from the shadow of Vini Jr, who has been sidelined with injury, however the failure to progress has left doubts over the former’s future at Real.

There are still five years remaining on Rodrygo’s contract and he is slowly becoming one of the more senior members of Real’s squad despite his tender age, with a belief that he may flourish once Vini returns and takes some of the pressure off him.

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However, for PSG, they may see Rodrygo as a talented option to replace Mbappe, knowing the Brazil international still has a big pedigree and that his signing would still weaken Real, whom they see as a rival after their recent transfer battles.