Happy endings have evaded the vast majority of Leeds United’s squad in 2022/23 after a campaign of derisory performances resulted in relegation last month. If there was one player arguably deserving of a little joy to take away on holiday it was Rodrigo, United’s top scorer.
The joy on the 32-year-old’s face said it all as Spain lifted the 2023 UEFA Nations League crown in Rotterdam on Sunday night. While Rodrigo did not play a part in the final, he will take a medal from Spain’s first trophy in 11 years and run.
In a season which proved damaging for so many on the books at Elland Road, Rodrigo was one of the few who stood up to be counted with by far his best year in West Yorkshire. The forward would average a goal every 148 minutes in the top flight, leaving you wondering what difference he may have made had it not been for that ankle injury at Accrington Stanley.
In the three weeks between that dark day against Tottenham Hotspur and Sunday’s international triumph, Rodrigo is unlikely to have had much time and space to weigh up his options. In light of his international exertions, the former Valencia striker is likely to be given a delayed pre-season return date at Thorp Arch.
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While those players with uninterrupted summers are expected back on July 2, Rodrigo is likely to be given until later in the month after a proper rest. Will he ever wear a Leeds training shirt again though? Will Leeds Beckett University ever see him for pre-season testing again?
It seems distinctly unlikely, but if a transfer has not been arranged before then, Rodrigo’s professionalism up to this point suggests he will turn up when and where he is told to. With his Spain return, a long-held aim of his, signed off, Rodrigo can now get his feet up and think about his future without any distractions.
Rodrigo’s representatives, including his father, will have already fielded calls from interested clubs. After 15 goals in 35 outings last term, the forward will be in demand once more.
With one year left on the Whites contract he signed in 2020 and a refreshed taste for international duty ahead of Euro 2024, it seems highly unlikely he will see a future for himself in the Championship. At 32, with those personal targets and after a big shift for Leeds, most supporters would wave him, and his big wages, off with goodwill.
He deserved those moments of happiness as he sat alongside Kepa Arrizabalaga in the Spain dressing room and gazed at his winners’ medal. Some material recognition of a superb personal campaign at last.
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