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Rodrygo has already explained why he rejected Liverpool before amid Mohamed Salah plan

MADRID, SPAIN - SEPTEMBER 24: Rodrygo of Real Madrid looks on during the LaLiga match between Real Madrid CF and Deportivo Alaves  at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on September 24, 2024 in Madrid, Spain.
-Credit: (Image: Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images)


Liverpool will one day need to replace Mohamed Salah. The herculean task will not be easy but reports from Spain have claimed the Reds are readying an enormous bid for Rodrygo of Real Madrid.

That’s according to Fichajes, who have gone so far as to claim Liverpool is willing to offer $111m (£83m/€100m) in order to secure the 23-year-old. Another source, OK Diario, has gone further and claimed an offer of $134m (£100m/€120m) was rejected. Either way, a deal of this size would make Rodrygo the most expensive player in the history of the club and among the top 20 in football history.

As he is under contract until 2028, with a weekly salary of $267k (£202k/€240k), this does not instinctively feel like a move that FSG is likely to sanction. But even if the Liverpool owner is willing to significantly loosen the purse strings, the player has already rejected the club in the past as he has previously explained.

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Rodrygo has said he came close to signing for the Reds while at former club Santos in his homeland of Brazil. "We didn’t close the deal because I didn’t want to,” he said (via sportskeeda). “I wanted to stay at Santos even though the offer was very good... Everything was very good, but my desire spoke louder.

“I wanted to stay at Santos and make a bit of history at the club. And that’s what happened: I was able to fulfil my dream of playing for Santos. But it’s true, I almost went to Liverpool." He moved to Madrid two years later, in the summer of 2019.

Ahead of the Champions League final against Dortmund earlier this year, he spoke of a desire to spend the remainder of his career with Los Blancos too. "Stay at Real Madrid forever? Yes, well, anything can happen. I have a contract but the years I've spent here, it's been a pleasure. I always want to stay at this club but let's see,” Rodrygo said.

Whatever the future holds, with four years remaining on his contract, the Real winger is unlikely to be moving to a new club any time soon. He might have rejected Liverpool in the past but would he do so again if Madrid no longer wish to keep him at some point? Watch this space.

Liverpool.com says: If Liverpool is serious about getting Rodrygo, it will regret failing to convince him back in 2017. That could prove to be a very costly mistake. But in all likelihood this is paper talk with no real substance behind it.