Former Santos interim manager Elano has confirmed that Liverpool were eager to sign Brazilian wonder-kid Rodrygo ahead of Real Madrid before Los Blancos ended up signing him.
As per the Sun, when speaking about Rodrygo, Elano confirmed “There was strong interest from Liverpool for the kid when he was in the youth teams and they wanted him, but the offer was low. Then the offer arrived from Real Madrid. I had a chat with the club and I told them the kid was worth gambling on and that I would like to work with him.”
The Sun also note that Rodrygo ended up moving to Real for a whopping £40M, a hefty price to pay for a player who was just 18 at the time, however given his recent performances, this fee looks to be a bargain.
So far this year, the teenager has bagged an impressive total of five goals and one assist in six games in all competitions, with the player’s most recent strikes come in his side’s 6-0 win against Galatasaray in the Champions League.
The Brazilian scored the first hat-trick of his career against the Turkish outfit earlier this week, as he showed the world exactly the type of player he is, and why Real felt the need to splash out so much on him.
Given how he’s performed so far this term, we’re expecting a lot of things from young Rodrygo, a player who could easily become a mainstay in Los Blancos’ team for the next decade or so.
And should he manage to do that, we’re sure Liverpool will be kicking themselves at the fact that they didn’t manage to beat Real to his signature earlier this year…