Young Real Madrid winger Rodrygo is tied for the most goals and assists in La Liga for a player born in 2000 or after. The Real Madrid winger is tied with Bryan Gil of Eibar (on loan from Sevilla). The pair had notched up 7 goal contributions each last season.
Rodrygo notched up 1 goal and 6 assists while Byran Gil had a more all-round season, registering 4 goals and 3 assists to his name.
After a breakout season in 2019/20, Rodrygo had fallen down the pecking order under the management of Zinedine Zidane. The 20-year-old Brazilian winger only played in 22 La Liga games last season.
However, his goal contribution return is up there with the best youngsters in Spain. Rodrygo's 7 goal contribution last season was the fifth-best tally amongst all Real Madrid players.
Despite playing a mere 1,027 La Liga minutes last season, a goal contribution every 146 minutes was the second-best return of the whole of Real Madrid's first-team. This proves the immense quality Rodrygo possesses and could be an 'X-factor' in the Carlo Ancelotti era at Real Madrid.
Also Read: David James' column - 5 best goalkeepers in the world right now
Real Madrid could face a player registration headache ahead of the new season
According to the new La Liga rules, each club can only register three non-EU players in their squad for next season.
This rule can be a major headache for Real Madrid since Gareth Bale is now back at the Bernabéu. Since the United Kingdom is no longer considered part of the EU following Brexit, Gareth Bale will be treated as a non-EU player by the Spanish authorities.
Apart from Bale, Real Madrid have three other non-EU players including Eder Militao, Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo. If Los Blancos want to register Bale for next season, one of Vinicius Junior, Militao or Rodrygo would have to be sacrificed.
One way for Real Madrid to get around this rule is to not register Rodrygo for next season and send the 20-year-old down to the Castilla side. This would mean Rodrygo would not be able to play league football for Real Madrid but would be available for Champions League games as there are no foreign restrictions there.