Rodrygo does so much to make Real Madrid a better side but arguably doesn’t get the recognition he deserves. We look at his role in a team chasing La Liga and Champions League glory yet again.
In a Real Madrid side stacked with galácticos, Rodrygo doesn’t quite fit in.
He isn’t a Kylian Mbappé, or a Vinícius Júnior, or a Jude Bellingham. He doesn’t hog the limelight like those three superstars who, since Mbappé’s move to Spain last summer, have been unimaginatively dubbed ‘BMV’ by the local press because they are the headline-makers.
They are the players who sell more shirts than others; the ones who bring in crowds and who, ultimately, score the goals that make Madrid the team they are.
But calling the current frontline a “trio” does a disservice to the relatively unassuming but still immensely talented Rodrygo. It’s very much a front four, and the suggestion otherwise is one that grates on many people, the Brazilian himself included.
In a social media post following a 1-1 draw at Mallorca in August, in which Rodrygo scored his side’s only goal, the winger vented.
“Last week they talked about the trio of Bellingham, Mbappé and Vini, but they are going to have to add the R of Rodrygo to that acronym,” he said. “We have a quartet of attackers and the rest of the team. They all have their importance in the games and will show their value in the different competitions in which we participate.”
He later deleted the post apparently for the good of the squad’s harmony, an act that highlighted, much like what he does on the pitch, how he is constantly at pains to help the team be the best version of itself.
The view that Rodrygo doesn’t get the respect or attention he deserves isn’t an uncommon one, and yet he remains the least heralded of that front four. If there was to be one player in that Madrid attack who was to be replaced, most would agree that it would be him. He just isn’t the same level of superstar, something that was shown by him being the only one of the four who missed out entirely on the nominees’ list for the 2024 Ballon d’Or, despite being a key part of the double-winning team. “I think I deserved it… but I’m not the one who decides these things,” he reflected.
Within the squad, however, there’s no question of his importance. After Madrid’s Champions League play-off victory over Manchester City, teammate Bellingham told US Network CBS just how much he values Rodrygo.
“[He is] so underrated,” the England midfielder said. “For me, he’s probably the most talented and most gifted player in the squad. The things he can do with the football — we’ll be messing around and he’ll flick the ball up somehow and you’re like, ‘How do you do that?’ He’s a pleasure to play with.
“He’s the one who sacrifices the most. His favourite position is [like Vinícius] the left, and it’s important to note that he does a lot for the team defensively on the right side, which isn’t his favourite, but he never complains.”
With those words, Bellingham perhaps highlighted a couple of reasons that Rodrygo isn’t lauded like some of his more celebrated teammates: he is versatile and willing to sacrifice himself for the greater good. Those aren’t exactly the hallmarks of your typical galáctico. You wouldn’t find Mbappé or Zinedine Zidane or Cristiano Ronaldo playing out of position on the right wing if it helped get the most out of Rodrygo or Raúl or Gareth Bale, possibly even if it meant Madrid winning more matches.
Observers might – fairly reasonably – argue that if you were to sacrifice the output of one of Madrid’s talented front four, it should only ever be that of Rodrygo. Mbappé, Vinícius and Bellingham are three of the best attackers on the planet; match-winners who should not be limited in any way.
But Rodrygo’s inferior numbers should take into account that he is playing out of position, on his ‘natural’ side – rather than inverted – which makes it more difficult to be a direct goal threat because when he cuts infield he does so onto his weaker side. That said, he showed with a beautiful left-footed strike in the first leg of the round-of-16 Champions League tie against Atlético Madrid that it might be his weaker foot, but it’s hardly weak. Nonetheless, it’s impossible to say whether he would still produce fewer goals than his teammates if he were on his favoured flank, or if he does so because he’s on that side.
The truth is, though, that even though he doesn’t produce goals and assist at the rate of Mbappé or Vinícius, he isn’t far behind at all. Since his first-team debut in September 2019 – when he was just 18 – he has 113 goal involvements in 169 starts and 87 substitute appearances in all competitions for Madrid. Only Karim Benzema (167) and Vinícius (159) have more in that time, and Rodrygo was still learning his trade for many of those years.
Rodrygo averages a goal or assist every 136 minutes in a Madrid shirt – almost exactly one every one and a half games – which is only marginally worse than Vinícius (125.1 mins) and Bellingham (115.1 mins). Like the other members of Madrid’s attack, he scores important goals, too, not least his opener against Atléti and his two goals over two legs as Madrid knocked Man City out of the Champions League at the quarter-final stage last season.
His goal last week against Madrid’s local rivals was his 25th in the Champions League for Madrid, making him the fourth-youngest player (24 years, 54 days) to score 25 for a single team in the history of the competition, behind Lionel Messi for Barcelona (22 years, 286 days), Mbappé for PSG (22 years, 352 days) and Raúl for Real Madrid (23 years, 252 days). Hardly bad company to be keeping.
There’s no doubt, though, that as things stand, he is far from the main event at the Santiago Bernabéu. With Mbappé and Vinícius playing, Madrid have two of the best left-sided attackers in world football, so it’s natural they lean that way. In La Liga this season, 42.4% of the chances they have created have come down the left – the highest rate in the league – compared to 29.1% from the right. Mbappé has 29 goals and five assists. Vinícius has 19 goals and 10 assists. Rodrygo’s 14 goals and eight assists from the right pale in comparison.
But that should take little away from his importance. With Madrid’s two main men taking up positions in the same kind of areas – and initially struggling to produce their best in the same XI – Rodrygo became even more important. He stretches the pitch on the other side, opening up more space for the others to operate, while still providing a significant attacking threat of his own. Only Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal (24) and Vinícius (19) have followed up a ball carry of at least five metres by creating a chance more times in La Liga this season than Rodrygo (18). He has been absolutely integral as Madrid look to repeat last season’s league and Champions League double.
Manager Carlo Ancelotti has always been a fan. Since his return to the club in 2021, only Federico Valverde (199) has made more appearances for Madrid than Rodrygo (197), while those two were the only players who played a part in every one of Madrid’s 13 games en route to Champions League glory last season, each making 12 starts and one sub appearance.
Since then, with the addition of Mbappé, Madrid have become a more fearsome attacking unit, but they remain far from the complete product. They have surrendered their lead at the top of La Liga to Barcelona, having won only two of their last six games. Atlético also edged ahead of them in recent weeks, though Madrid leapfrogged them back into second at the weekend after Atléti lost at Getafe.
Unsurprisingly, given how many incredible attackers they play with, their biggest issues appear to be with defensive balance. They have kept only two clean sheets in their last 11 games, and there will likely be some onlookers who think the team would be better off with a more defensive player added to the lineup.
But Rodrygo’s performances this season have meant that, like the other members of the Real Madrid attack, he can’t be dropped.
In fact, it’s probably about time that the Brazilian starts getting the recognition he so clearly deserves. In the second leg against Atlético on Wednesday night, Diego Simeone will certainly prepare his team to make sure they are set up to deal with Madrid’s significant threats down both flanks.
Because, as Bellingham put it in a social media comment of his own in response to Rodrygo’s complaints about the ‘BMV’ moniker: “Only the fools forget the R.”
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