Is Rodrygo Bengali? Ethnicity of Brazil star & Liverpool target explained
Emma Payne
Updated on April 03, 2026
Rodrygo – who Liverpool want to sign – missed a penalty as Brazil exited the World Cup, although many are now wondering if the £39m man is Bengali.
The Real Madrid No.21 confidently stepped up to take Brazil’s first penalty in the Quarter-Final shootout against Croatia, only to see his effort saved by Dominik Livakovic as the Seleção lost 4-2 on penalties.
After full-time, a number of people have asked about Rodrygo’s ethnicity online…
Is Rodrygo Bengali?
Well, after his miss against Croatia, a number of people have taken to Google to query whether the 21-year-old is of Indian descent.
Rodrygo was actually born in Osasco, São Paulo, and is not known to have any Indian heritage.
37-year-old Luka Modrić consoles Real Madrid teammate, 21-year-old Rodrygo, after Croatia come back to snatch victory over Brazil. To have the empathy in this moment of glory to console an opponent, one of many reasons Modrić is so revered. 🇭🇷🇭🇷❤️
— Men in Blazers (@MenInBlazers) December 9, 2022
The South American’s mother, Denise Goes, was born in Brazil, as was his father, Eric Batista de Goes.
Rodrygo’s father actually played professionally himself across several tiers of Brazilian football, the highest of which being Série B – Brazil’s second division.
Rodrygo profile
Full name: Rodrygo Silva de Goes
Age: 21
Nationality: Brazil
Date of birth: 9th January 2001
Place of birth: Osasco, São Paulo
Club: Real Madrid
Position: Winger
Salary: £133,000-a-week
Liverpool want to sign Rodrygo
Interestingly, Jürgen Klopp is a huge admirer of Rodrygo, and has allegedly tried to bring the South American to Liverpool on a number of occasions.
Jorge Nicola – a respected Brazilian journalist – revealed on YouTube back in December 2021 that Liverpool had enquired about the exciting forward.
The Brazil international’s agent at the time – Nick Arcuri – also said: “When Rodrygo went to sign his first professional contract with Santos, aged 16, a Liverpool Director called me saying that Klopp already knew the player.”
Arcuri added that Klopp even travelled to Brazil to meet Rodrygo in person.
Clearly, the German is a big fan of the South American, although it will be difficult for Liverpool to sign him from Real Madrid anytime soon, given the fact he has a contract at the Santiago Bernabeu until June 2025.
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