LALIGA
Rodrygo signs contract extension with Real Madrid until 2028: all the details
The Brazilian has followed in the footsteps of compatriot Vinícius Junior, who committed his future to Los Blancos earlier this week.
Rodrygo has agreed a contract extension with Real Madrid which should see him spent almost a decade with the LaLiga giants. The Brazilian was already tied to the club until 2025 but has opted to prolong his stay by another three seasons until the summer of 2028. By then, he will have spent nine years in the Spanish capital, having moved from Brazil club Santos in 2019 at the age of just 18.
What is the release clause in Rodrygo’s new Madrid deal?
The attacker’s impact with Los Blancos has increased year on year and he has now been rewarded with a bumper new deal, which contains a €1 billion ($1.06 billion) release clause, designed to fend off potential interest from state-backed clubs. The extension had been in the offing for several months and was finally made official on Thursday.
More players are set to follow, with Eder Militão, Eduardo Camavinga and Fede Valverde having also verbally agreed to commit to the club until 2028. Real Madrid’s present will have a big bearing on their future.
Early ups and downs in Madrid
Rodrygo has had an eventful five-year spell in Spain so far. Like compatriot Vinícius Júnior (and potentially Endrick, who will join Los Blancos next summer), he featured for both the first team (26 games, seven goals) and reserve team Real Madrid Castilla (three games, two goals) in his first year at the club.
After a promising debut season, however, he was hampered by injury in his second, with a quadriceps tendon tear keeping him out of action for two months. Unable to get a proper run in the team, he netted just twice in 33 appearances, most of which came from the bench.
2022 Champions League heroics
But he showed clear signs of being able to fulfil his early promise in 2021-22, playing a decisive role in Madrid’s epic Champions League second-leg comebacks against Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Manchester City en route to them winning the tournament. The Brazilian changed the game after coming on as a substitute against the French side, scored the goal which took the tie to extra time versus the Blues and twice netted against Pep Guardiola’s men. That 2022 Champions League triumph would barely have been possible were it not for Rodrygo.
Those European goals were among nine he scored in all competitions (in 49 appearances) and served as a prelude to his best season to date in Madrid: 19 strikes in 57 matches in 2022-23, when he became a regular starter.
| Season | Appearances | Goals | Assists | Goalscoring ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | 29 | 9 | 3 | One goal every 188′ |
| 2020-21 | 33 | 2 | 8 | One goal every 648′ |
| 2021-22 | 49 | 9 | 10 | One goal every 267′ |
| 2022-23 | 57 | 19 | 11 | One goal every 202′ |
| 2023-24 | 14 | 2 | 1 | One goal every 508′ |
Rodrygo’s “love” for Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti
This season, however, hasn’t quite started in the same vein. After breaking a run of 12 games without a goal in the recent Champions League win over Braga, the 22-year-old attempted to explain his lack of form: “I was going through a spell of bad luck, I was trying everything but nothing was coming off. And yet today I didn’t play so well and I scored. I want to thank the coach because he has trusted me throughout. He saw that I was angry, sad... and he came and motivated me, he spoke to me to give me confidence. I really love him.”
As it stands, Rodrygo has scored only two goals this season but has the full support of his teammates, Carlo Ancelotti and the club. Although his contract extension had been agreed behind the scenes a while back, the fact it has now been made official only serves to confirm the attacker will continue being a key figure in Real Madrid’s future.
Which trophies has Rodrygo won with Los Blancos?
Despite his tender years, the Brazilian has already won everything he possibly could have done in his five years in Spain: one Champions League (2021-22), two LaLiga titles (2019-20 and 2021-22), one Copa del Rey (2022-23), one UEFA Super Cup (2022-23), two Spanish Super Cups (2019-20 and 2021-22) and one FIFA World Club Cup (2022-23).
Where he does have unfinished business, though, is with the Brazilian national team, with whom he has yet to win silverware. Rodrygo wasn’t called up for the 2021 Copa América (Brazil lost in the final) and was part of the side beaten by Croatia in the 2022 World Cup quarter-final in Qatar. Current interim coach Fernando Diniz has started him in every 2026 World Cup qualifier so far; the future looks bright for Rodrygo for both club and country.