When Rodrygo Goes scored the winning goal in the Copa del Rey final against Osasuna on Saturday night, he headed to one corner, embraced his teammates and then made an i with his fingers. Few spotted it and fewer understood the meaning, at least not yet, but somewhere in that sea of white where everyone was going wild was a small boy sitting alongside his dad who knew. Down there on the pitch, it was his celebration the Brazilian was doing.
Ignacio is eight and has just completed a cycle of chemotherapy as he recovers from Hodgkin’s disease. Rodrygo had first spoken to him in February through a charity called Juegaterapia dedicated to children with cancer, and had been to see him two days before the final, challenging him to a game of Fifa on the console. Ignacio had warned Rodrygo he was going to get beaten and when he scored, the i followed. Now it was Rodrygo’s turn.
