"I didn't want to" - Real Madrid forward reveals blunt Liverpool rejection

The Brazil international attracted the attention of several European heavyweights thanks to his exploits as a 17-year-old in his homeland, where he scored eight goals in the 2018 Brasileiro campaign.

Real Madrid ultimately won the race to prise Rodrygo away from Santos, paying €45m (£38.6m) to bring him to the Bernabeu, where he has become a fundamental figure in Carlo Ancelotti's system.

Now 23, Rodrygo has registered 52 goals and 40 assists in 207 matches for Los Blancos, including a remarkable brace in his side's Champions League semi-final second-leg win over Manchester City in the 2021-22 season.

That continental title is one of nine major honours that the winger has won in the famous white jersey, and despite having to become accustomed to a central role this season, he has hit double figures in La Liga for the first time.

Boasting 15 goals and eight assists from 42 games this term — including three strikes and two assists from eight Champions League games — Rodrygo is expected to start in tandem up front with Vinicius Junior for Tuesday's quarter-final first leg with Man City at the Bernabeu.

However, the 23-year-old could have been lining up against the Premier League champions at least twice more each season had he swapped Santos for Liverpool, whom he has revealed made a «very good» offer for his services.

Rodrygo still had unfinished business at Santos, though, but while it was a straightforward decision for the Brazil international to turn down the Reds, he did not think