"This World Cup, I'm here. And I see myself deciding games for Brazil. I just hope that this dream I'm living goes on forever. I don't ever want to get used to it. I don't ever want to wake up." So concludes a very long and extensive letter signed by Rodrygo Goes that the newspaper The Players Tribune has published on their website.

In it, the player, his father Eric, and his coach Luciano Santos of the Santos youth divisions recall the Madridista's career from his birth through his signing for Santos, his transfer to Real Madrid, the victory in the last Champions League, and his selection to the Brazilian national team for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

His birth on December 25th

When Rodrygo was born, his father Eric says, "I knew that if he was born in December, he would be the youngest in his age group and the kids born in January would be almost a year older."

"For a young player trying to stand out, that is a disaster. Denise often asked me, 'But why?'

"I was like, 'Don't worry, just do whatever you can to hold him up.' I wasn't even gonna take her to the hospital!"

Youth

"My father used to say that words have power. Brother, I loved to dream, so I kept telling myself the same things because I used to have all these dreams as a kid," he admitted.

"I'm going to play for Brazil. I was running around with a fake Selecão shirt and the Neymar mohawk.

"I'm going to play for Real Madrid. When I was 10, my birthday party theme was 'Rodrygo Real Madrid.'

"I'm going to win the Champions League. The peak of club football.

"I'm going to play in the World Cup. The peak of football, period."

Difficulties at Santos

"I had to arrive at Santos by 7 a.m. Therefore, do you know what my mother did? She would get me dressed at 4 a.m. while I was sleeping. She would put on the socks, shorts, and shirt. She would pack my school uniform", he said.

"She would then carry me into the car, place me in the backseat, and place a pillow under my head. I would get up and eat in the car as her brother drove me to Santos.

"I would return to Osasco for school after training. I would then play futsal in Sao Paulo after that."

Goal against Manchester City

"When I made it 1-1, there were 40 seconds left of normal time. We ran back to restart the game, and they showed the added time. SIX MINUTES!" he remembered.

"The Bernabeu went crazy. Literally seconds later Dani was about to cross, and I had actually made my run into the box too early. But a defender pushed me out, so I moved in just behind him. Dani swung in the cross....

"I jumped ... you always jump.... Asensio went up as well. The ball skidded off his head, came to me and, somehow, I reacted in time. GOAL."