Barcelona legend defends Real Madrid star: ‘He’s at the same level as Vinícius & Mbappé’ | OneFootball

A former member of the attacking ranks at La Liga giants Barcelona has this week moved to throw his backing behind Real Madrid star Rodrygo.

This comes after the Brazilian international’s social media team turned heads, in the aftermath of the club’s season opener.

After Real Madrid stuttered to a 1-1 stalemate with RCD Mallorca, during which Rodrygo netted his side’s only goal, a WhatsApp message attributed to the 23-year-old was unveiled online.

The message in question saw Rodrygo make clear his unhappiness with his absence from the new ‘MBV’ nickname to have been coined for Blancos trio Kylian Mbappé, Jude Bellingham, and Vinícius Jr:

And of the opinion that Rodrygo has every right to be angry with recent developments in Spain’s capital is fellow countryman Rivaldo.

Speaking late this week, in quotes gathered by Diario AS, former Barcelona standout Rivaldo jumped to the defence of Rodrygo, adamant that ‘he is at the same level’ as Real Madrid’s other attacking stars:

“He has plenty of reasons to complain and to give that touch to the press and to the people who only talk about the three of them, Mbappé, Bellingham and Vinicius. Rodrygo is a very important player at Real Madrid and he should not be left behind by any of his attacking teammates.

“Rodrygo is at the same level as Mbappé, Bellingham or Vinicius. He is absolutely right to talk about it because he is at their level. He is a striker who has been making the difference in a club like Real Madrid for years. And not talking about his importance seems a great injustice to me.”

Conor Laird | GSFN