• Trip to Bellingham's birthplace "This is where it all started, it's already a legend"
  • Group C Results & Standings
  • Lawnmower Rodrygo was a phenomenon

Between August 12 and October 24, 73 days and 11 games were played by Real Madrid. 11 games, with his 90 minutes in each, in which Rodrygo Goes failed to score a single goal. In another season that figure would have been just another statistic, but this summer the reality of the white team and the Brazilian striker has changed. Rodrygo is no longer the promising youngster who accompanied Benzema, Vinicius or Asensio. It is, after the departures of the Frenchman and the Spaniard and the injuries of his compatriot, the beginning and end of the attack of the 14-time European champions. A responsibility that at just 22 years of age the former Santos player has had to manage as best he could, weathering the storm, leaning on his own and breaking the shell when there were more doubts about him.

There are five goals and four assists in the last three games, just at the most difficult time for Madrid, pressured by injuries to Vinicius, Camavinga, Tchouaméni, Güler, Militao, Courtois and Kepa and pending Bellingham's shoulder discomfort. "Rodrygo is going to score more goals than Jude," Ancelotti warned a few weeks ago, in the midst of the Englishman's goalscoring effervescence and in the midst of the Brazilian's drought. The Italian's confidence in the attacker is one of the reasons for his latest explosion. "He's always told him not to worry, that with his football everything was going to come," Valdebebas said.

In the summer, the coach assumed that the solution to Benzema's 'goodbye' was the arrival of Bellingham, a change of system that would enhance the virtues of his midfield and a forward line that would give minutes for the consecration of Vinicius and the definitive explosion of Rodrygo, key in the roadmap of the Bernabéu's technical management. Not surprisingly, Madrid spent almost 100 million between the two when they had barely made their debut in professional football. "The man of the season is Rodrygo," he said at the training ground in the summer months.

"All the love in the world"

Rodrygo had been a key player in the Champions League, where he is already the fourth highest scorer in the club's history (17) behind Cristiano, Benzema and Raúl, but in La Liga he had not finished being completely regular. In Europe, his performances and goals against Chelsea and City put Madrid on course for 14th, but in the domestic competition they had only scored 16 goals in four seasons. Did it make sense to put Madrid's goals on his shoulders?

Without Benzema, eternally waiting for Mbappé, rejecting the signing of Kane and ruling out other options of less quality and more price, Ancelotti focused on empowering his youngsters. But things didn't work out at some points at the start of the season. Neither Vinicius nor Rodrygo, but Bellingham's appearance overshadowed almost everything. The doubts, as always, came when no victories were achieved. After the 3-1 win in the Madrid derby at the Metropolitano, after the 1-1 draw at the Pizjuán and after the 0-0 draw against Rayo.

"We give Rodrygo all the love in the world," insisted Ancelotti as the Brazilian racked up a goal in La Liga and another in the Champions League. By the end of October, he was the player in the five major leagues who had taken the most shots without scoring. He scored in Braga, almost on the rebound, but he still had a small black cloud.

"Calm of mind"

At that moment, under pressure from the Madrid environment, Rodrygo found peace at home. "His biggest supporters are his parents, Eric and Denise. They are always with him," explain those who know him best. In them, which had him as teenagers, he goes to have "mental calm" in the happy moments but also in the most worrying ones. And it hasn't been just any year for Rodrygo. On the sporting front, he has signed a major renewal until 2028 and on a personal level, he became the father of twins at the end of 2022, the result of a relationship with a Brazilian influencer with whom he now shares custody.

To help him manage his career, Rodrygo, advised by his father, hired a famous Brazilian mental coach a few months ago, Joel Jota, who had already collaborated with other footballers such as Gilberto Silva and who has 3 million followers on social networks and 5 million books sold. But yes, the best coach has him in Valdebebas: "Ancelotti has insisted that he didn't want a number of goals, but his imagination and partnership in the last meters. The rest would come," explain sources close to the Whites' dressing room, where they once again put the Italian as the 'father' of all the youngsters in the squad.

The renewal with Madrid has also come at an interesting time for the Brazilian's entourage, who is in the midst of a search for a new representation agency. Its market value, 100 million, makes it a treasure.

  • Real Madrid
  • Rodrygo Goes
  • Carlo Ancelotti