Why Rodrygo ‘refused to play against Barcelona’ with Real Madrid star ‘in rift’

REAL MADRID star Rodrgyo is refusing to play for the club after a huge rift with team-mates, according to shock reports.

The 24-year-old’s days with the Spanish giants are numbered and he will be sold this summer.

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Rodrygo was an unused substitute as Real Madrid lost 4-3 to their bitter El Clasico rivals Barcelona on Sunday.

The defeat proved costly with them now seven points behind Barca with three games to go at the top of the LaLiga.

Departing Carlo Ancelotti would have liked to name his strongest starting XI for the clash – but Rodrygo does not want to play for the club anymore.

Bombshell reports from Spanish outlet Marca claim the winger feels “displaced” at Real Madrid.

The “media explosion” around Jude Bellingham and the signing of Kylian Mbappe last year has frustrated him.

Rodrygo wanted to be the club’s main man alongside Vinicius Junior and is “angry” about having the spotlight taken away from him.

It has supposedly led to a “rift” forming between the two Brazilians.

There is no suggestion that Bellingham or Mbappe have done anything wrong.

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But Rodrygo’s relationships with his team-mates have reportedly “deteriorated significantly”.

Xabi Alonso will replace Ancelotti in the dugout this summer and he is ready to show Rodrygo the exit door.

Club chiefs do not want him around and he is likely to leave.

Alonso could convince him to stay but is set to build around Bellingham, Mbappe, Vinicius and Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Rodrygo, who has scored 68 goals and got 50 assists from Real Madrid in 267 games, has a contract at the Bernabeu until 2028.

His departure could spark a Premier League transfer battle as Arsenal and Manchester City have previously been linked with him.

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