An emotional Julen Lopetegui discusses the pain of his sacking as Spain manager and the pride he has in accepting the Real Madrid job.
ESPN FC’s Stewart Robson breaks down the latest transfer rumours surrounding Paul Pogba, Rafinha and more in Rumour Rater.
The FC crew react to Real Madrid’s appointment of Julen Lopetegui as manager, questioning the timing as he prepares to lead Spain at the World Cup.
ESPN FC’s Gab Marcotti discusses the tricky situation Julen Lopetegui finds himself in as he coaches Spain before taking over at Real Madrid.
Brazilian club Santos have announced an agreement to sell teenager Rodrygo to Spanish giants Real Madrid next summer.
Rodrygo will move in July 2019 in a deal that will cost the European champions a total of €54 million, sources have told ESPN Brasil.
The 17-year-old had been linked with Barcelona for some months, with Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain among the other clubs said to have been monitoring his progress.
However Madrid made the decisive move and have agreed a deal with Santos under which sources told ESPN Brasil the selling club will receive €40m, with Rodrygo and his camp receiving €5m of the total amount being paid and the rest going on taxes.
Santos confirmed the final agreement and said the amount they were to receive from the transfer was the most ever received by any Latin American club.
O Santos Futebol Clube e o Real Madrid C.F. chegaram a um acordo para a transferência futura do atleta @RodrygoGoes. A ida do atleta ao clube espanhol está programada para julho de 2019.
Mais detalhes em https://t.co/XLLTyz4MaT pic.twitter.com/YLZ5O6J1ub
— Santos Futebol Clube (@SantosFC) June 15, 2018
Madrid’s subsequent club statement said the deal would go through next summer — with FIFA not allowing transfers between international clubs for any player aged under 18.
“Real Madrid C. F. and Santos Futebol Clube have agreed that Rodrygo Goes will play his football at Real Madrid when he reaches the legal age requirement,” the La Liga side’s statement said. “Although the player would be able to play for our club as of January 2019, the agreement in place sets out that he will join the squad in July of that year.”
May 2017 saw Madrid agree a €45m deal with another young Brazilian attacker, Vinicius Jr, with the Flamengo player due to move to the Bernabeu ahead of the 2018-19 campaign.
Dermot Corrigan is a Madrid-based football writer who covers La Liga and the Spain national team for ESPN FC. Follow him on Twitter @dermotmcorrigan
Be the first to comment