Elano was working as Santos assistant coach in early 2017 when he heard how much Liverpool were willing to pay for the club’s new wonderkid Rodrygo. He was not impressed at all.
“I went to the board and said, ‘No, no, we can’t let him leave for this,'” the former Manchester City midfielder tells BBC Sport.
“It was a 3m euro offer only and the talks were already at an advanced stage. It was pretty much a done deal. They had a verbal agreement but I insisted, ‘We can’t do this’.
“He was just 16 years old back then and, although the team had high hopes for him, it was not clear yet when he would be playing for the senior side. So I went to Rodrygo and told him, ‘We will promote you soon. You have my word.’
“A little while after, I ended up taking charge as a caretaker manager and so, much sooner than expected, I could do what I had promised him. I brought him to train with us and gave him his first minutes as a professional footballer.”
Ultimately, Rodrygo agreed to sign a new contract and stayed with the Brazilian giants for another season.
In mid-2018, however, he finally left Santos, but not for Liverpool.
Instead, he signed for Real Madrid after the Spaniards came knocking with a 45m euro bid.
Now, when both teams meet in Paris for the Champions League final on Saturday, the forward will be on the opposing side of long-time admirer Jurgen Klopp.
Rodrygo has proved crucial on Real’s epic journey to the Stade de France, scoring five goals, including two goals in just over a minute in stoppage time in the 3-1 comeback win over Manchester City in arguably the greatest semi-final in history.
Such is the hype around the 21-year-old this season that he has been dubbed ‘Mr Champions’.
It remains to be seen whether he will return to haunt Liverpool.
