One that got away: how close Liverpool came to buying Brazil’s Rodrygo for €3m

Liverpool were close to signing Rodrygo for €3m in 2017, a year before Real Madrid struck a deal to sign the Brazil forward for 15 times that amount, the Guardian has been told.

The former Brazil and Manchester City midfielder Elano has said he convinced the then Santos president, Modesto Roma Júnior, to abandon plans to sell Rodrygo to Liverpool at that price. Elano was working as an assistant coach at Santos and a 16-year-old Rodrygo was yet to make his first-team debut.

Elano, highly regarded at Santos where he had three spells as a player before moving into coaching, was struck by Rodrygo’s talent and threatened to quit if Liverpool’s offer was accepted.

“‘You can’t sell him. If you sell him, I’m out,’” Elano says he told the president. “‘What is €3m nowadays? Nothing!’ He wanted to sell Rodrygo but I insisted and he got my point and stopped the negotiations for him. Everyone won, except me because I was fired months later by the new president José Carlos Peres.”

In June 2018 Madrid agreed to buy Rodrygo for €45m, with the player joining a year later. He has made more than 100 appearances for Madrid, winning two La Liga titles and last month’s Champions League final against Liverpool, in which he came on as a substitute.

The 21-year-old, who has five Brazil caps, got the two dramatic late goals that forced extra time in the Champions League semi-final against Manchester City and scored against Chelsea in the previous round to also force extra time.