Rodrygo has been heavily linked with a move to Manchester City over recent weeks, but the winger now has a new role under Xabi Alonso at Real Madrid.
The arrival of Alonso at the La Liga giants has shaken things up at the Bernabeu since he joined from Bayer Leverkusen during the summer, as the 43-year-old continues to figure out what his best team is for the 2025/26 season.
Throughout the FIFA Club World Cup and the opening game of La Liga, it looked like Rodrygo was not part of the new Real Madrid coach’s plans.
With Tottenham pushing for Savinho, Man City have Rodrygo on their list as the Brazilian’s replacement, but it looks like the winger will remain in Madrid for the time being.
Rodrygo warms up ahead of Real Oviedo v Real Madrid.
Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images
Rodrygo will be used at Real Madrid to push Vinicius Junior
Rodrygo received zero minutes during Real Madrid’s opening game of the season against Osasuna last week, but Sunday saw the winger handed an olive branch by Alonso, as the 24-year-old started over Vinicius Jr for Los Blancos’ trip to Real Oviedo.
Despite this, Rodrygo was furious when he was taken off with 63 minutes on the clock, and his replacement, Vinicius, came on to provide a goal and an assist.
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It was reported in the aftermath of the match that Rodrygo told his agents to find him a new club; however, that does not look like it is going to be the case, with the winger set to stay in Madrid, reports Diario AS.
The report states that Real Madrid expect Rodrygo to stay at the club beyond Deadline Day on Monday, despite Man City having a strong interest in the winger.
The La Liga club don’t believe their €90m (£78m) asking price will be met this late in the transfer window, which has become apparent to the Spanish giants in recent days.
In addition to this, Alonso has a new plan for Rodrygo, with the new Madrid boss set to use the winger to motivate Vinicius to step up, which proved to work against Oviedo on Sunday.
A lot could change over the coming week, but the signs point to Rodrygo staying at Real Madrid; therefore, Savinho will remain at Man City.
Man City still have a chance of signing Rodrygo
Rodrygo has not pushed for a Real Madrid exit over the summer, as the winger is happy in Spain and would have backed himself to change Alonso’s mind about him.
Although the 24-year-old started on Sunday, it is clear that the Brazilian is not a key part of the plans at the Bernabeu, and will likely spend most of the 2025/26 campaign on the bench.
This will have a big impact on Rodrygo’s chances of playing for Brazil at the 2026 World Cup, and the Real Madrid star may realise this over the coming days and ask for a move, as he would be guaranteed minutes at the Etihad Stadium.
There are a lot of moving parts in this transfer saga, and it seems like one that will not be over until the summer window shuts.