Rodrygo gets Real Madrid career advice from Dunga as Man City plan €80m bid amid Pep Guardiola involvement

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·17 de novembro de 2025

Rodrygo gets Real Madrid career advice from Dunga as Man City plan €80m bid amid Pep Guardiola involvement

Dunga has told Rodrygo whether the Real Madrid winger should leave in the January transfer window, amid strong claims Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola plans to bring the Brazil international to the Etihad Stadium.

While Rodrygo publicly said in October that he will not leave Real Madrid until and unless the club force him out, sources have told TEAMtalk that the forward is open to leaving the Spanish and European giants in the middle of the season because of lack of playing time,

Vídeos OneFootball

Rodrygo has struggled for regular minutes under manager Xabi Alonso, and has been able to make only two starts in LaLiga and just one start in the Champions League so far in the 2025/26 campaign.

Alonso is using Rodrygo to push Vinicius Junior on the left wing for Real Madrid.

TEAMtalk’s transfer correspondent, Fraser Fletcher, reported on November 12 that ‘Rodrygo has signalled openness to a mid-season move – despite Madrid’s preference to wait until summer’.

Sources have revealed that Manchester City are leading the race for Rodrygo, who has won LaLiga thrice and the Champions League twice with Madrid so far in his career.

Man City manager Pep Guardiola views Rodrygo as the ideal versatile winger, with the Premier League giants willing to trigger a €60-80m (£53-£70m / $70-$93m) deal for the 24-year-old.

Brazil legend Dunga, though, is of the opinion that Rodrygo needs time to get used to Alonso’s way of doing things, although the former defensive midfielder can understand why the winger is not happy and wants to play.

When asked if Rodrygo should leave Madrid in January, Dunga told Marca: “The Brazilian player is different from the European one. He’s a special player; he always wants to play.

“If he doesn’t play, he’s sad and doesn’t feel integrated. I see European players who aren’t playing and they’re calm, they don’t panic. The Brazilian, no. He always wants to play.

“And the Rodrygo situation… the thing is, I see that everything changed with Xabi Alonso.

“With Ancelotti, there was an ecosystem where Carletto controlled everything. And now it’s different because Xabi’s ideas are different.

“And the player needs time to assimilate this new way of working. Rodrygo needs time.”

Arsenal urged to sign Rodrygo from Real Madrid in January

While Dunga is of the opinion that Rodrygo should stay at Madrid, his compatriot Gilberto Silva wants Arsenal to sign the winger.

The former Arsenal and Brazil international defensive midfielder believes that if the Gunners have the chance to bring Rodrygo to the Emirates Stadium in the middle of the season, then the north London club should take it.

Silva told talkSPORT: “I know him and we’ve met a couple of times, but I don’t know his situation with Arsenal.

“At the beginning of the season, I thought it would be fantastic to have Rodrygo at the club.

“It is clear he will not have much of an opportunity to play under Xabi Alonso at Madrid, but he’s a great player with real talent, which is a waste if he is on the bench – but obviously, there is big competition at Arsenal as well.

“He’s got the ability to perform not only from the left side but in other positions across the forward line as well.

“Should Arsenal go in for him? Why not. If he’s not happy and there is an opportunity to increase the strength of the squad, then we can try and get him.”

Silva added: ‘The only question is, where would he fit? Maybe a few years ago, it would have been much easier to find a good player to fit that Arsenal squad.

“However, nowadays, even if you are a good player, it’s not so easy to find a starting place in this current team.”