REAL MADRID believe they have won the race to sign Brazilian sensation Rodrygo Goes.
Barcelona have been chasing the 17-year-old wonderkid who has taken the country by storm with his displays for Santos this season.
But Real look as though they have secured a major coup by agreeing a £40million deal to take the youngster to the Bernabeu.
Marca claim the European champions have nipped in ahead of Barca to settle on terms with the Santos president.
And they also claim that the forward, who has impressed in his debut season in the Brazilian top flight, has given his assurance that he wants to join Real.
If they do manage to complete the transfer it would represent an exciting piece of business and also be a major blow for their La Liga rivals.
Barcelona have invested a lot of effort in trying to capture Rodrygo, who has scored five goals in his first eleven games for Santos.
The Spanish champions had been attempting to piece together a package with Santos, who had tried to raise his buy-out clause to £92m in an attempt to ward off interest.
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But those negotiations faltered, allowing Real to move in and stump up the money quickly which Santos president Jose Carlos Peres appears to have accepted.
Real’s capture of Rodygo will be the second Brazilian teenager they have signed over the close season.
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The club had already snapped 17-year-old forward Vinicius Junior from Flamengo, before he even turned professional.
Vinicius will complete his move to Madrid next month when he turns 18, having already made a big impact in senior football.
He has scored four goals in nine league matches and struck another two in give Copa Libertadores appearances.
In signing both youngsters, Real are pushing ahead with a policy of bringing in highly-rated youngsters in the hope they evolve into world superstars.
They saw Barca succeed with a similar approach when they signed Neymar and Lionel Messi, while Real paid premium prices for established players.
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