Rodrygo’s Club World Cup tournament with Real Madrid is over after their elimination on Wednesday, and the Arsenal target was once again excluded from Xabi Alonso’s lineup.
For the fifth consecutive game, Real Madrid winger Rodrygo was initially named on the bench by Xabi Alonso for the Club World Cup semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday.
The 24-year-old ended up being an unused substitute in Real’s 4-0 defeat, the third time in those five games that he hadn’t been used at all.
Even when he came on in the other two matches, it was only for 23 minutes in a group game against RB Salzburg and four minutes in the quarter-finals against Borussia Dortmund. Alonso has shown a clear preference for other players in his attack.
Speaking after the game, Alonso denied that Rodrygo’s exclusion was related to a transfer decision, insisting it was just a matter of picking the players he thought would win them the game.
“The fact that he didn’t play again is a game-by-game decision,” Alonso said. “The way things were going, we needed another player.
“There haven’t been any decisions about the future throughout this entire championship; we haven’t rotated much.”
Even so, Rodrygo’s camp are likely to feel that Alonso has made his feelings about the player pretty clear with his actions, with reports emerging mid-tournament that they were upset by certain decisions.
Arsenal’s pursuit of Rodrygo still isn’t entirely clear. Reliable sources have reported that the Gunners are interested, but a recent move for Noni Madueke of Chelsea suggests they might have pivoted to a cheaper alternative.
With no deal in place between Arsenal and Chelsea, perhaps the Gunners could still go back in for Rodrygo instead. But there hasn’t been any hint of an imminent bid so far.