Real Madrid ace Rodrygo has revealed he was “very afraid” of club legend Zinedine Zidane when he arrived in Spain and that Luka Modric was like a father to him, in an interview with El País.
Rodrygo has lit up the Bernabeu since 2019, when he raised $48. 5 million (€45 million) from Santos’ youth team.
Despite coming from such an outstanding academy that produced the likes of Pele and Neymar, Rodrygo admitted: “On the first day I was a bit embarrassed to get here, with so many wonderful players. “
“The coach was Zidane, and when I saw Zidane for the first time I was scared. But it was a very nice moment, and then I talked to him. That day was a dream for me,” added the Brazilian.
After that, there was a figure who constantly supported him through his ups and downs.
“I say Luka Modric has been a father to me. It helped me in those moments. He was talking to me. He was like, ‘Don’t worry, you’re really good, things will get better. ‘”From then on I started to be calmer and things went better for me,” Rodrygo revealed.
The 23-year-old is referring to an 11-game drought that ended last October, before embarking on a blistering run of moves and assists.
“I tried to score goals by all means, and it didn’t work. In those moments, you try to be calm, because other people tell you, ‘Keep calm, and then [the goals] will come back. ‘
“But you see you watch game after game and things don’t work out, and you get a little sad, a little angry. But there came a time when I saw that it didn’t help me to be angry, to be, “That’s sad. I had to be more focused, exercise more, be calmer in the matches, and from there the goals started to come,” he explained.
The interview was published as Real Madrid embark on their quest for an unprecedented 15th Champions League crown.
For the first leg of the round of 16 against RB Leipzig on Tuesday night, Rodrygo will face compatriot Vinicius Jr. up front.