One of the most important take-away restaurants of the club World Cup in Madrid-well the economic boost ($ 75 million is not something that you earn every month) and the discovery that the 3-5-2 system perfectly fits the growing certainty that Rodrygo no longer has a place in the team.
The decisions of Xabi Alonso made it clear: after he started him in the first game, he banished him to small roles for the rest of the tournament. Writing is on the wall.
One of the last nails came in the form of Gonzalo – it is expected that a little more than a schedule filler – which eventually became a real attacking threat. He now stays with the first team and will compete with Mbappé and Vinicius for starting roles, assuming that the coach naturally dares to rotate them.
Rodrygo, good guy he is, should not be caught in such fights. To bench Mbappé or Vinicius, you need thick skin and real courage. You have to perform better in training, sit on the couch with fire in your intestines and be ready to face the cold looks when you have immersed one of them. You need a little bit and need a lot of hunger – qualities that make it easier for a coach to gamble on you and let a superstar rest for a game.
The summer transfer window is long, but the Rodrygo agents should search the Premier League for a better fit. He is a smart, technically gifted player with a nose in front of the goal – he has easily hurled in almost every attack. He also has a rare feature that appreciates newcomers: humility, the kind that will prevent him from creating the trophies he won in Madrid.
His future lies elsewhere. He must acknowledge that – and come from the long shadows of Mbappé and Vinicius.