With Real Madrid set to face Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League this week, Brazilian star Rodrygo Goes has made an "annoying" claim about the English giants, and also revealed a big decision he made regarding Liverpool.
Los Blancos will play the first leg of their 2023/24 Champions League quarter-final at home at the Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday night, with the return leg taking place on Wednesday, 17 April, at the Etihad Stadium.
The two sides met in the 2022/23 semi-finals of the same tournament, when the Citizens claimed a convincing 5-1 aggregate win across the two fixtures, and were eventually crowned champions for the first time after beating Inter Milan in the final.
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With the previous meeting between the two teams having been a one-sided affair, Rodrygo, who featured in both those matches, has now described Pep Guardiola's side as an annoying team to play against due their quality across the board, and admitted they were the one team Los Blancos were looking to avoid at this stage of the competition, according to Goal.
Speaking in a press conference ahead of the match on Tuesday, the 23-year-old said: "It brings back good memories but also bad ones. This was an opponent that, to be honest, we didn’t want to face. And they think the same as well: they didn’t want to play against us.
"It's a game that everyone expects to be the final, but it's going to be now. Man City are very good, but our team is also very strong. It's going to be good to meet them again.
"They're the Champions League winners, they're the world champions, today they're the best team in the world, so we have total respect for them.
"There are no bad or medium [City] players. There's no player you can think of like: 'This one I'm going to press because he isn't good and he will give us a goal or a great chance.'
"They have a very good control of the game and of the ball. It's a very beautiful game, a very difficult team. It's very annoying to play against them but I believe in our team."
Rodrygo also went on to reveal that he rejected a move to City's EPL rivals Liverpool in 2017, with the Selecao star explaining that although the Reds looked a solid prospect, he had different aspirations for himself at the same time.
"We didn't close the deal because I didn't want to. I wanted to stay at Santos even though the offer was very good," he explained.
"The pathway they [Liverpool] promised me would also have been very good for my career.
"I was going to finish my studies in England to prepare for European football. It had always been my dream to play in Europe.
"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."
