‘I visited Pele’s house and he gave me his blessing:’ Rodrygo claims Brazil legend helped convince him to make Real Madrid move
- Rodrygo made £40m move from boyhood club Santos to Real Madrid last year
- Forward admits Santos and Brazil legend Pele gave him blessing to leave
- 19-year-old has had a mixed first year at the Bernabeu under Zinedine Zidane
Rodrygo claims Pele gave him full approval to join Real Madrid after visiting the Brazil legend at his home.
The Madrid starlet moved to the Bernabeu in the summer in a deal worth £40million (€45million) from Santos where he had come through the ranks.
Likewise Pele also became a star at Santos where he spent the whole of his major career, scoring 619 goals in 638 appearances between 1956 and 1974.
Rodrygo states Brazil legend Pele gave him his blessing for a move to Real Madrid last summer
Rodrygo admits his 79-year-old compatriot is one of the biggest influences in his career along with another Santos legend Nemyar, but that he also has an appreciation for Cristiano Ronaldo and Robinho.
‘Cristiano and Neymar are sources of inspiration for me, I am a big fan of them, he told DAZN.
‘Pele, Neymar and Robinho mean a lot to me and also to my favourite team, which is Santos. Neymar is the player I followed the most but I had the chance to meet all three of them.
Rodrygo joined Madrid from Santos, where Pele spent his major career between 1956 and 1974
‘Before I completed my signing for Real Madrid I visited Pele’s house and he gave me his blessing,’
Rodrygo started the season in good from for Zinedine Zidane’s side, with the 19-year-old netting a hat-trick in a 6-0 Champions League win over Galatasaray.
However his first-team minutes have dried up since the turn of the year, and he has started to feature more in the reserve Castilla side.
Despite a bright start, Rodrygo has been on the fringes of the Madrid squad in recent times
Despite this, the forward praises Zidane over the way he has handled his early days at Madrid.
‘I have a very good relationship with Zidane,’ he added. ‘He knew when the time was right for me to step on the pitch in order to get me ready.
He helps me, gives me good advise and tells me where and how should I improve my game. He also tells me when I do something the right way.’
