Rodrygo’s apprenticeship is over and he is now Real Madrid player, proclaims Carlo Ancelotti

Ever since his pre-determined move to Real Madrid, Rodrygo has struggled to find his footing with the presence of other major stars at the club higher than him in the pecking order. However, things have changed over the last few years as the forward slowly but steadily has come into stead and become a key player for the Los Blancos. That was especially the case last term as the 21-year-old contributed to 19 goals across all competitions as the club lifted the La Liga and Champions League double.

Yet despite that, Rodrygo still showed signs of inconsistency with the 21-year-old struggling to properly find his footing over the course of the season. That has changed this term with the forward contributing to 2 goals in as many games, which includes a game-winner against Real Betis recently. It saw Carlo Ancelotti praise Rodrygo and admit that the 21-year-old’s “apprenticeship is over” and “is now a Real Madrid player to all intents and purposes”. 

"He (Rodrygo) is a special striker for me because he can play in all the positions. He is quick, clever without the ball and effective in one-on-one situations. His apprenticeship is over and he is now a Real Madrid player to all intents and purposes," Ancelotti said post-match.

While Karim Benzema has netted four goals in five appearances, the forward still has endured a tough start to the season and it has many believing that he needs rest. That has led to the concern that Real Madrid don’t have enough players to back the Frenchman but Ancelotti refuted those claims and believes that they have plenty of backups.

“It’s not true that he (Benzema) doesn’t have a substitute. There are Mariano, Hazard, Rodrygo, and Asensio can play in that position. Modrić has played there too, although that didn’t go so well! The fact we’re playing every three days now might mean he’ll have to rest some matches. Today he wasn’t so clinical in finishing, but that wasn’t because of anything physical,” he added.