It’s not every other day that two of the world’s biggest football clubs, Real Madrid and Barcelona, fight to sign a 17-year-old teenager.

Over the last few months Champions League title holders Real Madrid and La Liga champs Barcelona have constantly been in touch with Brazilian giants Santos FC to sign their prodigy, Rodrygo, who played exceptionally well in the 2017-18 season of Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A, where the talented forward went on to find the back of the net 9 times in 29 games for the club. Real Madrid pipped Barcelona to sign the Santos sensation, a deal which is reportedly worth €45million.

Following his move to Real Madrid, Rodrygo in a news conference said:

“It’s a dream for me to be a player of Real Madrid, but my biggest dream has already been realised and that is to be a player for Santos. Everything has happened so quickly, I have spent half of my life here (Santos).”

Rodrygo’s agent Nick Aguri stated that Rodrygo will pen down a deal with Real Madrid that will stretch to 2025. Here are 3 reasons why Rodrygo could be the future of Real Madrid.

Football runs in the blood

Rodrygo is the son of former right-back Eric Batista de Goes, who had represented some of the top Serie B clubs like Criciuma, Ceara, Oeste and Boa Esporte. Eric lastly played for Serie C side Cuiaba in 2016-17.

Santos debut at just 16

Rodrygo made his debut in the senior division last November when he was just 16. It’s not often you see a 16-year-old making a debut for one of Brazil’s most successful clubs.

Rodrygo donned the white and black jersey for the first time when he came out as a substitute replacing Bruno Henrique in Santos’ 3-1 victory over rivals Atletico Mineiro.

It didn’t take him many games to put up his name in the scorers’ list as he netted his first goal – a last-minute winner for Santos in January 2017 against Ponte Preta in Campeonato Paulista tournament.

Coming from a club which has produced two of the biggest stars

Santos has produced world’s most celebrated strikers, Pele and Neymar. Both started their careers at Santos and later went on to cement their legacy in the sport. Rodrygo will also be aiming to reach the same stardom when he goes on to represent Real Madrid in the coming days.