As much as the discussion around the Real Madrid attack has focused on Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe changing their respective games to make the club even stronger after Mbappe’s move from PSG, perhaps the dialogue should begin to center around right winger Rodrygo Goes.
Rodrygo isn’t in the forefront of the Ballon d’Or conversation like Vinicius Jr., nor is he a former World Cup winner who is now the highest-paid player at Real Madrid after ending a transfer saga years in the making – that would be Mbappe.
But Rodrygo, to this early point in the 2024/25 LaLiga season, has been arguably more impressive than either of his two teammates in the Real Madrid starting attacking trident.
Rodrygo carved Real Betis up from the right wing in a 2-0 win, setting up the opening goal with a lovely dribble into the heart of the pitch. The 24-year-old Brazilian international is averaging 2.3 key passes and 3.0 combined dribbles completed and fouls drawn per game.
Those statistics are impressive enough, but the biggest impact Rodrygo has made on the Real Madrid attack cannot be measured in numbers; it can only be captured by watching the games.
Both Mbappe and Vinicius Jr. love to occupy the left-sided channel, cutting inside on their right feet to attack the goal. Karim Benzema and Vinicius Jr. were the same together in 2021/22 when Real Madrid won the Champions League for the first time in the post-Cristiano Ronaldo era.
That same season, Rodrygo was key on the right side even though – like Vinicius, Benzema, and now Mbappe – he prefers to cut inside from the left side of the attack onto his right foot.
Rodrygo has always been willing to change his game to put Real Madrid first, sacrificing his own accolades and recognition for the team, often rising to the occasion as a superstar in the most dire moments – most unforgettably with his last-gasp brace against Manchester City in 2021/22.
Coming into this season, Rodrygo went from underappreciated to outright disrespected, including by his own local media. So much of an onus was placed on Vinicius Jr., Mbappe, and Jude Bellingham that Rodrygo became a forgotten fourth fiddle.
No matter. Rodrygo does his talking on the pitch, and he has started the season so brightly, with the most astute of Madridistas observing a level of consistency exceeding that of his teammates.
Rodrygo is the one holding width on the right side, stretching the field horizontally so that Mbappe and Vinicius Jr. can combine together. He is putting in the dirty work on the flank offensively and defensively, using his positional awareness to draw out defenders and then time his runs into the box or other central areas.
That can undo and unbalance defenses. Remember those incredible Barcelona sides that dominated European football? Everyone who followed those teams or played against them knew that Pedro was the key on the left flank.
But Pedro was the least talked about attacker at Barcelona. Everyone was busy fawning over Lionel Messi’s record-breaking statistics and David Villa’s prowess as Spain’s top striker.
Yet it was Pedro who was Pep Guardiola’s chess piece. Pedro was the one staying high and wide, drawing out defenders, making runs in behind, and freeing the space for Messi and Villa to attack defenses as the Barcelona decoy.
Rodrygo is playing a similar role for Real Madrid, but there’s a key difference. Well, there are a couple of key differences, including the fact that Rodrygo isn’t actually an inverted winger on the right as Pedro was for Barca on the left.
But the biggest difference is talent. Rodrygo is a far more dynamic dribbler and a superior chance creator to Pedro, which is saying something since Pedro was one of the best wingers of his era despite a similar lack of recognition in comparison to his sheer quality.
Rodrygo is providing that same ability to take pressure off his teammates at Real Madrid, and that’s going to end up paying dividends over the long haul for both Vinicius Jr. and Kylian Mbappe in the front three.
On top of that, he is frequently directly creating the chances, so despite holding width, he’s also very involved on the ball when needed. He can do, in that way, less than more as the most efficient member of the dynamic Real Madrid attack.
What’s crazy about Rodrygo is that although being an out-and-out right winger isn’t his first choice position, he is fulfilling this role so well that he is now becoming the best on the planet as a right-footed right winger.
Rodrygo has always put Real Madrid first throughout his career, and that has never been more evident – or more important – than in 2024/25 with the arrival on Mbappe. Hopefully, the troglodytes in the Real Madrid media who threw him under the bus to start the season realize and apologize for their mistake soon.
The managing editor of The Trivela Effect, Kevin has 15 years of experience in digital media. He covered Real Madrid from 2019-2022 for The Real Champs as a site manager. You can contact him at the site’s official Twitter handle @TrivelaEffect or via the site’s official email thetrivelaeffect@gmail.com.