According to "AS", Rodrigo accepted an exclusive interview with Thomas Roncero and talked about his experience of joining Real Madrid and other topics.

I heard that you still have a child-sized Real Madrid jersey in your home. You have been wearing this jersey when you were six years old...

This jersey was a gift brought to me by my father after he went to Germany with his team to inspect. At that time, there were many Brazilian players in Real Madrid, so I started to pay attention to Real Madrid’s games, especially after Cristiano Ronaldo joined Real Madrid. I would watch every Real Madrid game just to watch him play. In Brazil, I am a fan of Santos, but I have always liked Real Madrid since I was a child. It has always been my dream to join Real Madrid when I can go to Europe to play.

But I heard that you almost went to Barcelona. Can you tell me about this?

Before signing the contract with Real Madrid, I had almost completed the procedures for joining Barcelona. But my dad told me that Real Madrid contacted us and I had to make a choice. For me, the choice was easy, I knew what I wanted and what my dreams were. I didn’t hesitate at all, and then I became who I am now.

If your father hadn't told you (Real Madrid's invitation) at that time, you would be a Barcelona player now! This is unimaginable...

(Laughs) I was still in Santos at that time, and my game condition started to get better. Barcelona took the initiative to come to me, and I have always said that Barcelona is a great club and I have full respect for it. But Real Madrid is my dream, so the decision was not difficult at all.

Real Madrid signed you in 2018, and then you were loaned back to Santos for one year. It was not until 2019 that you officially joined Real Madrid at the age of 18. But you made your debut with Castilla (Real Madrid’s B team), and did it bother you when you started playing in the B team?

Not at all. I still remember playing my first game for Castilla in Valdebebas (Real Madrid’s training base) and I scored a beautiful goal. I got a red card because of my celebration. It still feels crazy when I think about it now! (Laughs) I knew very well that it would be difficult to enter the first team directly at that time, so it was a good choice for me to start at Castilla so that I could adjust my physical condition to the best. It was a great arrangement for me and it was really helpful to understand the roots of the club starting from the youth system.