Ancelotti contemplates dropping Rodrygo to accommodate an extra midfielder
Last season, Real Madrid played with four midfielders and utilized Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo Goes as strikers with Jude Bellingham scoring goals behind them as a No. 10.
Carlo Ancelotti’s new formation worked wonderfully, as Real Madrid returned as La Liga and Champions League winners with Vinicius Jr. and Bellingham becoming the top Ballon d’Or candidates.
This season, Real Madrid brought in Kylian Mbappe, another Ballon d’Or-caliber forward, necessitating a move back to a 4-3-3 to accommodate all three star forwards: Vinicius Jr., Rodrygo, and Mbappe.
However, Real Madrid haven’t looked better on the pitch, and with Toni Kroos retired, they are lacking stability in the middle of the park, and it appears Ancelotti misses the balance having four midfielders provided.
As such, MARCA reports that Ancelotti wants to accommodate his four world-class starting midfielders and get all of Jude Bellingham, Fede Valverde, Aurelien Tchouameni, and Eduardo Camavinga in the starting XI.
That will mean sacrificing one forward, and if Real Madrid have to sacrifice anyone, then, unfortunately, it will be Rodrygo, who has already been disrespected enough by his home media and the Ballon d’Or voters.
Rodrygo has been better than Vinicius Jr. and Mbappe so far this season, but he isn’t better than either of those players and isn’t a natural fit on the right wing anyway despite his succeeding there on sheer quality and intelligence.
Real Madrid will still have a key role for Rodrygo off the bench, but Ancelotti may, once again, have to make a difficult decision to bench a legitimate superstar player for the good of the team.
Yeah, Real Madrid has “first-world problems” that only the best club in the world can have.