Real Madrid star Rodrygo breaks silence on failed Manchester City transfer | OneFootball

Real Madrid forward Rodrygo has lifted the lid on the barrage of speculation linking the Brazilian to a sensational switch to the Etihad Stadium this summer.

The 24-year-old was heavily linked with a move to Manchester City in the final weeks of the recent window, with club officials identifying Rodrgyo as their preferred replacement for Savinho, who was attracting interest from Tottenham in August.

City sanctioned a season-long loan for Jack Grealish in the summer and have witnessed a stark dip in attacking output from their wide forwards since the exits of Raheem Sterling, Leroy Sane and Riyad Mahrez in the last three seasons.

The recruitment of Omar Marmoush from Eintracht Frankfurt has also gone so only far to alleviate the ever-growing goalscoring burden on Manchester City talisman Erling Haaland, who has scored 12 times in all competitions for the Blues since August.

In conversation with Spanish paper AS, Rodrgyo has opened up on speculation over his club future that dominated headlines over the course of the summer transfer window.

“Every summer, the same thing happens to me. Whether I’m going to leave or whether I have offers from this club or that,” Rodrygo said, as quoted by Goal.

“Every week, I was in a team if I paid attention to what was published. Of course, there are always offers; I’m not going to lie about that. But I always made it clear to the club that I want to continue succeeding here, even more than I already have.

It’s a lot to have won two Champions Leagues at my age, but now I want more European Cups in this shirt. I’ve always said: ‘As long as Real Madrid wants me, I’ll be here.’ If one day Real Madrid says to me: ‘Rodry, find a team,’ I’ll say ‘OK.’ But that hasn’t happened.

“The club has always told me they count on me. And when I had a problem, they were there for me. People speculated because I kept quiet. But I knew what I was going to do this season with Real Madrid and that I’m going to be focused on giving my best. It hasn’t bothered me.

“I was calm, and here I am – as always. This is my seventh season. When the manager (Xabi Alonso) arrived, he called me in to talk and said: ‘I know you like playing on the left, but I’m going to need you in other positions too.’ I told him, ‘Okay manager, I’m here to help the team.’

“Everyone knows I prefer playing on the left and that I’m much better on that wing, but I’m always available to the team to play on the right or as a number nine, and I told him so. The truth is, he’s only putting me on the left, and I like the level of minutes I’m getting.

“I’m doing well, although, logically, I want to play more. I’m in a process of evolution, and I’m getting better and better, and I feel happy. I’m performing better and better.”

Savinho’s move to Tottenham fell through and Manchester City have since handed the 21-year-old Brazilian a new deal that is understood to have presented a wage hike to the forward and offered him a route to leave the club for a set release clause price in the future.