Rodrygo Silva de Goes (born 9 January 2001), best known as Rodrygo Goes or simply Rodrygo, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Spanish club Real Madrid and the Brazil national team.
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.
Early Life and Career
Born in Osasco, São Paulo, Brazil. Rodrygo joined Santos’ youth setup in 2011 at the age of ten, initially assigned to the futsal team. 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.
On 21 July 2017, Rodrygo signed his first professional contract, after agreeing to a five-year deal. On 1 November, he was promoted to the main squad by interim manager Elano.
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. 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.
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. 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 before his record was broken by fellow Santos youth graduates Kaiky and Ângelo.
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. On 3 June, he scored a hat-trick and also assisted Gabriel’s last goal in a 5–2 home routing of Vitória.
On 26 July 2018, Rodrygo changed his jersey number from 43 to 9 (a number he already wore during the Libertadores). For the 2019 campaign, he again switched numbers, now to jersey 11, previously worn by fellow youth graduate Neymar.
Real Madrid
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. The rumoured fee was of €45 million, with Santos receiving €40 million as the club owned 80% of his rights with the rest owned by Rodrygo’s agents.
On 25 September 2019, Rodrygo made his first team debut and scored his first league goal against Osasuna within a mere minute. He scored his first hat-trick, being a perfect 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. 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. 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. On 3 November 2020, Rodrygo scored the winning goal in a 3–2 victory over Inter Milan in the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League.
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 progress into the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League semi-finals. On 30 April 2022, Rodrygo helped Real clinch their 35th Spanish title after scoring twice in a 4–0 win against Espanyol at the Bernabéu. On 4 May 2022, after coming on as a substitute in the 68th minute in the second leg of the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League semi-final tie against Manchester City, he scored two goals in two minutes, including one in stoppage time, sending the game into extra-time, in which Karim Benzema scored the winner from the penalty spot, allowing Real Madrid progress into the final against Liverpool.
International Career
On 30 March 2017, Rodrygo was called up to Brazil under-17s for the year’s Montaigu Tournament. 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.
On 7 March 2018, Rodrygo and Santos teammate Yuri Alberto were called up to the under-20s, but both were cut from the squad six days later after a request from his club’s president.
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. In the 1–0 loss on 15 November, he replaced Willian for the final 20 minutes.
Parents
Rodrygo’s father, Eric, is a former professional footballer. A right back, he played in several tiers of Brazilian football, the highest of which was Série B.
His father’s full name is Eric Batista de Goes who was born on 23 July 1984, simply known as Eric, is a Brazilian retired footballer who played as a right back.
Rodrygo’s mother’s name is Denise Goes.
Siblings (Sister)
Rodrigo has only one sibling and is a girl born in 2018. Rodrigo’s sister’s name is Ana Julya Goes.
Family and Life Story
Children growing up and realizing their talents in Brazil tend to have interesting stories to tell of their difficulties, hardships and endeavors. Rodrygo Goes childhood story is not any different from this case either, as he too has faced difficulties during his youth. Born to Denise Goes and Eric Batista, his parents were even younger than how old he is now when they had him almost 20 years ago (estimated in 2022). While thankfully the youngster’s parents hare happily married, they did get engaged at the very young age of 17, which would surprise and even shock many from other countries.
One of the more bizarre facts about Rodrygo Goes is that his parents are in their thirties now, which means that most of the winger’s teammates and Real Madrid’s most trusted icons are the same age as his mother and father. Rodrygo grew up as an only child with no siblings, but that status changed when the family welcomed a beautiful baby girl, named Ana Julya in February 2018.
Some say that football is in the genes, but many footballers have proven them wrong by being the first in their family to make it to the top as professional football players. Rodrygo, however, seems to have the genes some people talk about, as his father too was a footballer. While he did play football in Brazil’s lower leagues, he did not get to move up the ranks as his son was born when he was merely a teenager and had to provide for his newborn son and his wife.
Although Eric Batista did not have the opportunity to shine as an elite footballer himself, he made it his mission to raise his only son to one day achieve what he could not. Realizing his footballing talents in their living room, Rodrygo was tutored by his father as he grew up to be a full-on Madridista. He used to watch videos of the legendary Robinho, whose skills he copied with ease, which resulted in him being called up to attend trials with Santos at the age of 9.
Another one of the more interesting facts about Rodrygo Goes is that while he was playing for Santos’ youth team at the age of 10, his parents insisted that he join the club’s futsal team instead, which is a career path taken by the very man whose videos he used to watch growing up. Yes, Robinho rose up the ranks with the futsal team and so did Rodrygo as he trained with both sides.
Almost every elite club in the world has a scout in Brazil, as some of the rarest gems in football could be found in this country. That is why, at the age 16, many clubs were already interested in signing the forward early on so that no other club could come close. With many clubs offering professional contracts, Rodrygo was called up to the first team by Dorival Junior, the club’s manager.
He made his Copa Libertadores debut at the age of 17 years and 50 days old, which broke the record as he got to be the youngest player to ever play in the competition for Santos. Not only did he get to break the record as the youngest Santos player, he also broke a more important record as he scored his first goal of the competition a couple of weeks after his debut and became the youngest goal-scorer in the history of the competition.
While still considered a minor, many clubs came in knocking for his signature on an early deal which would have him bound to a club before even turning 18. That is exactly what Real Madrid managed to pull, as they signed the youngster at the age of 17 in June 2018, signing him for a staggering €45 million.
Wife/ Girlfriend
Rodrygo Goes is currently single and not in any relationship for now. Rodrygo Goes is also not married.
Net Worth and Salary
Rodrygo Goes’ net worth as of 2022 is estimated at around $7.5 million – $13 million.
Rodrygo earns £6,864,000 per year playing for Real Madrid.
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