What next for Rodrygo? Real Madrid bench beckons after failing to land summer transfer - and winger faces battle to make Brazil's World Cup squad

It is difficult to be a Brazilian kid in Madrid. It always comes with such immense expectations. And with Los Blancos seemingly intent on grabbing every single prodigious Brazilian after missing out on Neymar, a plethora of talents have come in and out of the revolving Santiago Bernabeu door. Rodrygo was an expensive acquisition, but he had the luxury of being able to grow into the side. When Madrid bought him in 2019, there was no great need for a wide attacker. He had time.

And he used it to his advantage. Rodrygo was first a super sub for Federico Valverde, then a valuable - if slightly disgruntled - starter. Two goals in quick succession against Chelsea in the Champions League etched him into Madrid lore - and proved vital in their run to a 14th European crown later that year. And he only improved from there, grabbing minutes from the ageing Karim Benzema and also chipping in on the right wing. By the end of the 2022-23 campaign, it was clear that Los Blancos had an outright star on their hands. 

Still, there were some early signs of discontent. Rodrygo made it clear, for one, that he didn't particularly like playing on the right. "With the 4-2-3-1, behind [Benzema] is the position that I like the most and everyone knows this. I always talk about it with the coach. Of course, I can play in all positions, but that's where it's where I feel more comfortable when it comes to playing," he said in 2024.

And so the troubles started. That claim made public what had been suspected for a long time. Rodrygo, for all of his immense attacking talents, simply isn't a natural right winger. And even if he had developed a brand as the selfless team guy who was willing to sacrifice himself for the good of the side, it became clear that he was unhappy with his role.

For one, his positioning began to falter. Throughout last season, Rodrygo constantly crept towards his preferred left wing. Mbappe, too, edged that way. At times, Madrid were effectively playing with no right winger and making do with a makeshift right-back in Lucas Vazquez to support it all. By the end of the season, Ancelotti had abandoned the whole thing, playing a 4-4-2, with Vinicius and Mbappe up front. There was no place in the side for Rodrygo.

Transfer talk heightened from there. It was admittedly not an entirely new concept to see Rodrygo linked with an exit. After all, there was always something of a sense that a footballer of his quality should be playing star at a top-level team. It is still a possibility that he will be the main man for a club capable of competing for Champions Leagues. 

This summer, then, presented an ideal opportunity for that switch to arise. Madrid had a new manager coming in, and after investing heavily in Franco Mastantuono - another right winger incapable of staying on the right - clearly had ample cover in Rodrygo's spot. The talk started early and never stopped. There were pretty compelling links to Arsenal, who could have done with an upgrade on Gabriel Martinelli (they eventually signed Ebere Eze). Liverpool were mentioned, who needed help there after selling Luis Diaz (they eventually signed Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak). Man City were also in the mix, mostly because they are Man City. 

But Rodrygo stayed. There were rumours abound, but every single one was met by either radio silence from the player's side or an insistence from new manager Xabi Alonso that Rodrygo would stay. Social media posts suggested that he was, in fact, happy to fight for his spot at Madrid. Meanwhile, the fact that he was used at all at the Club World Cup suggested, to the wider world at least, that there might not be such a dramatic departure. 

Perhaps part of the reason is the price of it all. Madrid could command an immense fee for Rodrygo, with their demands reportedly hitting €100 million (£87m/$117m). Not many are able to pay that - nor have the overt need to do so. Transfers are based on these fundamental things. No-one needed him, or had the money to spend. Rodrygo was always, perhaps, going to be trapped.

But no matter, in theory. There was a hefty amount of speculation as to what system Alonso might use as Madrid manager. He has tinkered, to be sure, but eventually fallen on a 4-3-3 not too far removed from the shape Ancelotti tried for years. He needed a right winger. And instead of Rodrygo, Alonso turned to, well, pretty much anyone else. Mastantuono has had a go. So too has Brahim Diaz. Rodrygo has been used sparingly this year, but mostly off the left when Alonso elects to either bench Vinicius or shuffle the pack elsewhere. And in his one start at left wing, Rodrygo was, in all honesty, remarkably ineffective. 

It's a bit of a clash, then. In one sense, Rodrygo is an elite winger who has always been used out of position - and has learned, for years, to try to adapt to a role he is unsuited for. But when he has been given his chances at his preferred spot, they have been brief, fleeting, not significant enough to show that he can stay there long term. 

Rodrygo is stuck, and starved for minutes. 

There was a sense, though, that he always had Brazil to fall back on. After all, Ancelotti is the coach and although the duo certainly had their differences in the past, the Italian has always recognised his unique talents - and used them to good effect. It was assumed that even a Rodrygo in and out of the Madrid side - or any side - would still get his moments for the Selecao. Apparently not. 

This international break, it must be admitted, comes with something of an asterisk. Ancelotti didn't call up a number of presumptive starters for the 2026 World Cup, which Brazil have already qualified for. But with Vinicius struggling for the national team, Neymar unlikely to be fit, and Estevao perhaps not quite ready to take the mantle as the Selecao's go-to guy, Rodrygo really should be the team leader here. His Brazil record is agreeable, and a player of his talents should be a shoo-in for the side. 

But that is far from a guarantee. What Rodrygo perhaps needed here was a vote of confidence, or outright support from his manager. He needed a message sent, perhaps even some affirmation from the manager. Instead, he was told where he could call him up. Rodrygo's place might be in doubt. And there's nowhere to go.

With nine months to go until the World Cup gets underway in the USA, Canada and Mexico, Rodrygo, then, faces a defining period in his career at both club and international level.

Amid Alonso's uncertainty with who to pick on the right side of his attack, the Brazilian must sense the opportunity to reassert himself and make that flank his own. We know the Spanish tactician likes to tinker, but the job now is to push into the select group who are still guaranteed starters.

If the situation does not change before January, then Rodrygo will no longer be able to ignore the option of an exit. A permanent move in the winter window is highly unlikely, but the 24-year-old may be forced to take the high-risk option of a short-term loan. Ancelotti has made his stance pretty clear, and the winger's World Cup hopes will probably depend on it.