“Rodrygo has already proved that he can be a relevant player for Real Madrid,” says Santos president

Santos president Jose Carlos Peres has talked to AS about Real Madrid’s Rodrygo, who is having a fine debut season with the club and has already made an impact even though he was expected to play with Castilla for the first half of the season.

“Rodrygo will be even better. He’s already proved that he can be a relevant player for Madrid. He’s a humble kid and in Brazil we’re all paying attention to his development,” said Peres.

Santos’ president said he’s not worried about Rodrygo not playing as many minutes lately.

“He’s fully committed to the team and knows that he’s still developing. He knows this is a unique opportunity for him to succeed in Real Madrid. He’s always been a very calm kid because his family and his lawyer always help him mature,” explained Peres.

The president was asked about how Rodrygo played when he was in Santos’ academy.

“I’ve been with Rodrygo ever since I joined Santos. He was very young and everybody paid attention to him because of how skilled he was dribbling the ball and also his good IQ. His decision making was very obvious but one of the things we enjoyed the most about him was his willingness to improve. This boy is truly a genius,” added Santos’ president.

Rodrygo will turn 19 years old next January and has plenty of room for improvement. As Peres said, he’s a very smart player who will only get better once he gets more minutes and experience in Spanish football.