From May 2017 to June 2020, Real Madrid broke the bank to sign three Brazilian wonderkids.
But if Vinicius Jr can be considered the best of the lot, blossoming into a truly world-class attacker under Carlo Ancelotti at the Santiago Bernabeu, and if Reinier Jesus has been something of an expensive disappointment, then Rodrygo Goes ranks somewhere in the middle.
He’s had his moments, of course.
There was that wonderful Champions League hat-trick against Galatasaray in 2019, a pair of dramatic late winners against Inter Milan.
But consistency continues to elude a player who joined Real Madrid in a £38 million deal at the age of just 17. While Vinicius goes from strength to strength, his baby-faced compatriot has plateaued somewhat in the most pressurised of footballing environments.
Rodrygo has started just five of a possible 17 La Liga matches since Ancelotti’s Madrid return. And if Kylian Mbappe’s dream move becomes a reality in 2022, Rodrygo feels like the most obvious candidate to make way.
Could Rodrygo Goes finally join Liverpool in 2022?
Jorge Nicola, a well-connected Brazilian journalist, claimed on his his YouTube channel earlier this week that Liverpool have made an enquiry.
“There was a period when there was very serious interest from Liverpool,” former Manchester City midfielder and Rodrygo’s one-time Santos coach told ESPN back in 2019.
“When Rodrygo went to sign his first professional contract with Santos, aged 16, a Liverpool director called me saying that Klopp already knew the player,” the Brazilian’s agent, Nick Arcuri, added a few months later.
According to Arcuri, Klopp himself even made the effort to meet one of South America’s brightest talents face-to-face.
“(Klopp) had already come to see Rodrygo personally,” he says.
“He had gone on YouTube, searched ‘talents from Brazil’, Rodrygo had appeared and he was very young. (Klopp) came to Brazil, and liked him.
“They contacted me. The Liverpool director (Michael Edwards) wanted him to be his first signing. I went to England, Liverpool have an office in London.
“I brought the proposal to Modesto (Roma Junior), then president of Santos. Modesto didn’t accept.
“It turned out that Santos didn’t want to sell Rodrygo. But it was Rodrygo’s first official proposal, he was 16 and it was Liverpool.”
One year later, Rodrygo was on his way to Real Madrid for £38 million. It seems unlikely that Liverpool would have been willing to pay such a staggering sum for a teenager, even one as talented as Rodrygo.
But if Klopp is serious about landing a player he once travelled the globe to meet, Liverpool will have no choice but to put their money where their mouth is.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
