Rodrygo: "I don't want to weigh myself down with the pressure of replacing Cristiano Ronaldo"
The Real Madrid player spoke during Brazil's press conference: "To be honest, I didn't everything to happen so quickly. Not even in my dreams when I was a boy at Santos".
Rodrygo Goes faced the media on Tuesday as Brazil continue preparations for Friday's friendly against Argentina. The Real Madrid player admitted that he has been surprised at how quickly his career has taken off and the attention he has been receiving in Spain.
Rodrygo press conference
Excited to be with the Brazil squad: "I feel fulfilled. It was always my dream - since I was a boy I dreamt about representing the national team and playing alongside the best players in the world - players whose careers I have been following for a long time. So being here gives me happiness that I can't begin to put into words. Everything that has been happening in my life makes me feel very happy".
Hat trick against Galatasaray: "Well… you always try to make sure you are fully prepared so that things turn out well but I could never have imagined that everything would happen so quickly. It's all come as a huge surprise to me. Only a short while ago I was hoping to make my Champions League debut… and maybe at the most score a goal. Scoring a hat trick like I did was something no one expected. So I can't really explain how I felt after the game… Al I could do was enjoy a special, one-in-a-lifetime moment".
The comparisons being made between you and Raúl and Emilio Butragueño - and your relationship with them: "I speak a lot with Raúl - he was my coach when I was with Castilla and he helped me a lot, he gave me a lot of advice and of course his experience at a club where he made so much history is invaluable. The same can be said of Butragueño; he always travels with the team and gives the kind of grounding every young player needs. I'm still young and I could never have imagined that I would be compared to players like Raúl and Butragueño. My career has only just started. I hope that one day I might be as great as they were for Real Madrid and I'm working hard towards that. But I don't feel that responsibility as pressure. I don't feel pressure, I just enjoy the moment. That way, I don't feel pressure out on the field of play. Just to keep improving as a player is enough to stimulate me, I am working harder all the time".
Keeping calm and level-headed whilst in the spotlight: "Learning the ropes as a footballer isn't just about what's done on the training pitch. There is a big mental part too, preparing yourself so that success doesn't go to your head and knowing how to handle fame and to not be presumptuous. On that side of things, it helped me a lot that my father was a footballer, and that gave been a head start on the mental part. I watched him go through things that are happening to me now and so I know I can't let all of this attention go my head".
I would have loved to have played alongside Cristiano - Rodrygo
The responsibility of stepping into the role which Cristiano Ronaldo left vacant at Real Madrid: "Being able to play alongside Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid was a dream of mine and it's a shame that he left because now I think it would be very difficult to play with him. I am still a very young player to talk about filling the place left by someone like Cristiano Ronaldo who is one of the greatest players in the history of the club - if not the greatest. I don't want to weigh myself down with the pressure of replacing Cristiano Ronaldo".