Real Madrid forward reveals he was close to joining Barcelona: “Everything was agreed”

Speaking in an exclusive interview with GOAL, Real Madrid forward Rodrygo Goes has revealed that he was very close to joining Barcelona before making the switch to the Santiago Bernabeu.

Rodrygo signed for Real Madrid in the summer of 2019, arriving from Brazilian giants Santos FC, the club from where Barcelona signed Neymar back in 2013.

And, if the statements made by the 22-year-old forward could have followed in Neymar’s footsteps and arrived at Spotify Camp Nou, but Real Madrid came calling at the last moment.

“When my father told me the news… I always tell this story. I had two shirts: one of Barça and one of Real Madrid and I had to choose. It was very easy for me to choose,” Rodrygo said.

“Everything was agreed with Barcelona, it was a surprise for me, I didn’t expect Real Madrid to come. It was a scare but then it was one of the happiest moments of my life.”

While not a permanent fixture in the side at Real Madrid, Rodrygo has grown into a vital part of the team, and has been involved in 16 goals in 32 matches across all competitions this term.

Rodrygo and Real Madrid will be playing Barcelona quite a fair bit over the next month as the two clubs will face off twice in the Copa del Rey semi-finals and once in La Liga.

Talking about the Clasico semi-final in Copa del Rey and whether facing Barça gives Madrid extra motivation, the Brazilian said: “Maybe, but because it’s a title we haven’t won in recent years, whether it’s against Barça or any other team, we’re very motivated and we’re looking forward to winning it.”

“Of course, a Clasico is always very special, it’s always very difficult to play against Barça, but we’ll think about that. We have a lot of games beforehand and we’re going to try to win them all.”

The Blaugrana have built an 11-point lead over Real Madrid in the La Liga standings. But Rodrygo believes that they can still catch up with Xavi Hernandez’s side, as he said:

“It’s always possible, we have to believe until the end. I think, in my first season, we were many points behind Atlético and then we came back. It’s very difficult but we’re going to try to come back and win all the remaining games and see what happens.”