Barcelona 'rejected chance to sign Alvaro Rodriguez'

Barcelona reportedly rejected the chance to sign teenage attacker Alvaro Rodriguez before his move to Real Madrid in the summer of 2020.

The 18-year-old spent five years with Girona between 2015 and 2020 before arriving at Real Madrid, and he has featured on three occasions for the first team during the 2022-23 campaign.

The forward hit the headlines when he came off the bench to score his side's equaliser in Saturday's 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid in La Liga.

Rodriguez headed a Luka Modric corner into the back of the net to secure a share of the spoils for the reigning Spanish and European champions, and after the Madrid derby, Los Blancos head coach Carlo Ancelotti said that the youngster would be a permanent member of the first team next season.

"For next season he will be in the first-team squad because he has the quality that few others have. For his age, he is tall, powerful and a formidable header," Ancelotti told reporters on Saturday night.

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"In this last part of the season we will evaluate if we need him, which I think we do, Castilla or both. We have to handle him well and Raul and I will discuss what to do.

"He has shown all his quality and it is a special night for him and for us because we are beginning to realise that he will be useful in this part of the season.

"I ask him for what we needed. Height in the centre because in this type of game and having Karim [Benzema], who is not a usual centre forward, putting in a player of this quality was good for us. We needed to focus more because he is formidable with his head."

According to Sport, Barcelona were monitoring Rodriguez during his time at Girona but ultimately decided against making a move to sign him.

The report claims that Girona offered the youngster a professional contract when he was just 15, but Real Madrid ultimately won the race to sign him.

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Rodriguez's debut for Los Blancos came against Cacereno in the Copa del Rey at the start of January, and he has since featured in La Liga against Osasuna and Atletico.

The teenager was also on the bench for Real Madrid's Champions League last-16 first leg against Liverpool last week, which ended in a 5-2 victory for the capital giants.

Rodriguez is expected to still feature for Real Madrid Castilla this season, but Ancelotti's lack of options in the centre-forward spot could see the youngster involved in the first team for the rest of the campaign.

Rodrygo's current injury has left Mariano Diaz as the only senior alternative to Karim Benzema at centre-forward, but the 29-year-old has only played 51 minutes of league football this term.