Rodrygo Silva de Goes (Brazilian Portuguese: [ʁoˈdɾiɡu ˈsiwvɐ dʒi ˈɡɔjs];[4] born 9 January 2001), simply known as Rodrygo, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a winger or forward for La Liga club Real Madrid and the Brazil national team. Considered one of the best wingers in the world, he is known for his speed, pressing, work rate, dribbling, and finishing.[5][6][7]

Rodrygo
Rodrygo in 2020
Personal information
Full nameRodrygo Silva de Goes[1]
Date of birth (2001-01-09) 9 January 2001 (age 23)[2]
Place of birthOsasco, Brazil
Height1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)[3]
Position(s)Winger, forward
Team information
Current team
Real Madrid
Number11
Youth career
2011–2017Santos
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2017–2019Santos63(13)
2019–Real Madrid139(26)
2019Real Madrid Castilla3(2)
International career
2017–2018Brazil U174(3)
2018–2019Brazil U2010(3)
2019–2021Brazil U235(1)
2019–Brazil22(5)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21:46, 21 April 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:18, 26 March 2024 (UTC)

He began his career with Santos, where he played 80 games and scored 17 goals before a €45 million transfer to Real Madrid in 2019. At international level, Rodrygo made his senior debut for Brazil in 2019, aged only 18.

Club career

Santos

Rodrygo playing for Santos in 2018

Born in Osasco, São Paulo, Rodrygo joined Santos' youth setup in 2011 at the age of ten, initially assigned to the futsal team.[2] Rodrygo traveled the world with Santos, spreading his beloved game of futsal under legendary futsal coach Barata who also trained Neymar, including a much heralded YouTube video with City Futsal in Dallas area in Texas, USA. In March 2017, with the first team regulars in Peru for a Copa Libertadores match against Sporting Cristal, he was called up to the first team by manager Dorival Júnior to complete training.[8]

On 21 July 2017, Rodrygo signed his first professional contract, after agreeing to a five-year deal.[9] On 1 November, he was promoted to the main squad by interim manager Elano.[10]

Rodrygo made his first team – and Série A – debut on 4 November 2017, coming on as a late substitute for Bruno Henrique in a 3–1 home win against Atlético Mineiro.[11] The following 25 January he scored his first senior goal, netting a last-minute winner in a 2–1 Campeonato Paulista away win against Ponte Preta.[12]

Rodrygo made his Copa Libertadores debut on 1 March 2018, replacing Eduardo Sasha in a 2–0 away loss against Real Garcilaso; aged 17 years and 50 days, he became the youngest player of Santos to appear in the competition.[13] Fifteen days later he scored his first goal in the tournament, netting his team's second through an individual effort in a 3–1 win against Nacional at the Pacaembu Stadium; at the age of 17 years, two months and six days, he became the youngest Brazilian to score in the competition[14] before his record was broken by fellow Santos youth graduates Kaiky and Ângelo.[15]

Rodrygo scored his first goal in the main category of Brazilian football on 14 April 2018, netting the last in a 2–0 home win against Ceará.[16] On 3 June, he scored a hat-trick and also assisted Gabriel's last goal in a 5–2 home routing of Vitória.[17]

On 26 July 2018, Rodrygo changed his jersey number from 43 to 9 (a number he already wore during the Libertadores).[18] For the 2019 campaign, he again switched numbers, now to jersey 11, previously worn by fellow youth graduate Neymar.[19]

Real Madrid

Rodrygo with Real Madrid in 2019

On 15 June 2018, Real Madrid reached an agreement with Santos for the transfer of Rodrygo, with the player joining Los Blancos in June 2019 and signing until 2025.[20][21] The rumoured fee was of 45 million,[22] with Santos receiving €40 million as the club owned 80% of his rights with the rest owned by Rodrygo's agents.[23]

On 25 September 2019, Rodrygo made his first team debut and scored his first league goal against Osasuna within a mere minute.[24] He scored his first hat-trick, and gave an assist for the club on 6 November, aged 18 years and 301 days old, against Galatasaray in a 6–0 win in the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League season.[25] The second youngest ever to score a hat-trick in the competition, he is also the first player born in the 21st century to score in the tournament.[26] In his first season, he managed to make 19 appearances, while scoring two goals during the league season, as Real Madrid won the 2019–20 La Liga.[27] On 3 November 2020, Rodrygo scored the winning goal in a 3–2 victory over Inter Milan in the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League.[28]

On 12 April 2022, after coming on as a substitute in the second leg of the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League quarter-final tie against Chelsea, he scored with a volleyed finish to send the game into extra-time, in which Karim Benzema scored the winner from a header, allowing Real Madrid to progress into the semi-finals.[29] On 30 April, Rodrygo helped Real clinch their 35th La Liga title after scoring twice in a 4–0 win against Espanyol at the Bernabéu.[30] On 4 May, while trailing 0–1 (3–5 on aggregate) in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final tie against Manchester City, he scored two goals between the 89th and 91st minutes to level the tie and send the game into extra-time. Benzema scored a penalty to win the game 3–1, allowing Real Madrid to progress into the final against Liverpool with an aggregate score of 6–5 and eventually win the tournament.[31][32] Following the turnaround win against City and other recent last-minute winning contributions, Rodrygo’s impact on the team was praised despite his young age and he quickly turned into a cult hero at Madrid.[33]

On 18 April 2023, he scored a brace in a 2–0 away victory over Chelsea in the 2022–23 UEFA Champions League quarter-final second leg, which secured his team's qualification to the semi-finals by winning 4–0 on aggregate.[34] On 6 May, he scored two goals for Real Madrid in a 2–1 win over Osasuna in the 2023 Copa del Rey final, to be their 20th title in that competition.[35]

On 2 November 2023, it was announced by Real Madrid that Rodrygo's contract had been extended, with a new expiration date of 30 June 2028.[36][37]

International career

On 30 March 2017, Rodrygo was called up to Brazil under-17s for the year's Montaigu Tournament.[38] He made his debut in the championship by scoring his side's only goal in a 2–1 loss against Denmark, and netted two more against Cameroon and United States.[39]

On 7 March 2018, Rodrygo and Santos teammate Yuri Alberto were called up to the under-20s,[40] but both were cut from the squad six days later after a request from his club's president.[41]

In November 2019, Rodrygo was called up for the first time to the Brazil senior team, for the Superclásico de las Américas against rivals Argentina in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.[42] In the 1–0 loss on 15 November, he replaced Willian for the final 20 minutes.[43]

On 7 November 2022, Rodrygo was named in the squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.[44]

Personal life

Rodrygo is the father of Brazilian beautician Pamella Cristina Costa’s twin boys Ravy and Rayan, born in February 2022.[45]

His father, Eric, is a former professional footballer who played as a right back in several tiers of Brazilian football, the highest of which being the Série B.[46]

Rodrygo is a Christian.[47][48]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 30 April 2024[49]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueState league[a]National cup[b]ContinentalOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Santos2017Série A2020
2018Série A358123308[c]15812
2019Série A411016300205
Total41922493818017
Real Madrid Castilla2019–20Segunda División B3232
Real Madrid2019–20La Liga192115[d]41[e]0267
2020–21La Liga2210011[d]100332
2021–22La Liga3343011[d]52[e]0499
2022–23La Liga3496412[d]55[f]15719
2023–24La Liga31102111[d]52[e]14617
Total13926126502010221154
Career total18337224219582110229473

International

As of match played 26 March 2024[49]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Brazil201920
202010
202291
202383
202421
Total225
Scores and results list Brazil's goal tally first.
List of international goals scored by Rodrygo
No.DateVenueCapOpponentScoreResultCompetition
11 February 2022Estádio Mineirão, Belo Horizonte, Brazil4  Paraguay4–04–02022 FIFA World Cup qualification
217 June 2023RCDE Stadium, Barcelona, Spain14  Guinea2–04–1Friendly
38 September 2023Estádio Mangueirão, Belém, Brazil15  Bolivia1–05–12026 FIFA World Cup qualification
43–0
526 March 2024Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid, Spain22  Spain1–23–3Friendly

Honours

Real Madrid

Individual

References

External links