Jurgen Klopp discovered Brazilian star on YouTube but he signed Real Madrid contract at Anfield
Rodrygo won't be available to feature for Real Madrid against Liverpool on Wednesday due to injury, but the Brazilian could have been playing in red colours if the club hadn't failed in negotiations to sign him as a teenager in 2017
by Oli Gamp · The MirrorLiverpool missed out on signing Real Madrid star Rodrygo for just £2.5million in 2017 after Jurgen Klopp discovered the Brazilian on YouTube - before agreeing to join the LaLiga giants while playing a friendly at Anfield.
The Reds face Madrid at Anfield on Wednesday knowing one of their top players could have been wearing their colours if things had gone their way around seven years ago, when Liverpool were in "advanced talks" to sign Rodrygo - then from Santos - in a cut-price deal.
Rodrygo, who is injured for this week's clash, has already spoken out about the failed move earlier this year but quotes from his former agent and ex-Santos boss Elano explaining the ordeal have come to light.
Agent Nick Arcuri said Klopp had travelled to meet the player in Brazil after watching clips of his displays online.
He explained to Canal do Nicola in 2020: "He had gone on YouTube, searched 'talents from Brazil', Rodrygo had appeared and he was very young. He came to Brazil and liked him. They contacted me, the Liverpool director wanted him to be his first signing, Rodrygo."
Elano then revealed he intervened when Liverpool were on the verge of agreeing a deal for Rodrygo because the price was too low and managed to convince him to stay with the promise of more first team action.
He told BBC Sport in 2022: "I went to the board and said, 'No, no, we can't let him leave for this'. It was a 3m euro offer only and the talks were already at an advanced stage. It was pretty much a done deal. They had a verbal agreement but I insisted, 'We can't do this'.
"He was just 16 years old back then and, although the team had high hopes for him, it was not clear yet when he would be playing for the senior side. So I went to Rodrygo and told him, 'We will promote you soon. You have my word.'"
That intervention paid off as Real Madrid would sign Rodrygo just a year later for £37m - but the location where he put pen to paper on his Los Blancos was ironic to say the least. In the summer of 2018, Brazil played a World Cup warm-up match against Croatia at Anfield and Rodrygo signed his contract in a hospitality box inside the stadium.
The move turned out to be a great decision for Rodrygo. He's won two LaLiga and two Champions League titles since arriving, scoring 57 times in 231 appearances.
Explaining why he decided not to join Liverpool earlier this year, the 23-year-old simply said he wasn't keen to leave Santos at the time after living out his dream of playing for the Brazilian outfit. “We didn’t close the deal because I didn’t want to," he said. "I wanted to stay at Santos even though the offer was very good.
"I wanted to stay at Santos and make a bit of history at the club. And that’s what happened: I was able to fulfil my dream of playing for Santos. But it’s true, I almost went to Liverpool."
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