Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti answered a question about Rodrygo’s replacement and also announced a final decision regarding a player sale following Sunday’s 3-0 win over Real Valladolid.

Los Blancos moved up to third place in La Liga after claiming their first win of the season in their first home game of the 2024/2025 season.

Despite scoring his team’s only goal of the game in a 1-1 draw at Mallorca last weekend, Rodrygo failed to put the ball in the net this time and was substituted for Luka Modric in the 69th minute.

Asked about a player who has been shrouded in controversy since that goal and who many believe could be sold in the near future, Ancelotti stressed that the Brazilian “continues to progress” and “shows his personality”.

However, Ancelotti admitted: “It is difficult for me to say that he is a player who cannot be replaced in the squad.”

“His intelligence, his strength… it’s a blessing to have him,” he added of the Santos academy product.

Kylian Mbappe remained similarly goalless on his debut at the Bernabeu and has not yet scored a goal for his new employer in La Liga.

Nevertheless, Ancelotti praised his protégé and called him “a spectacular striker, very fast, very good without the ball”.

“He attacks from behind… he had three or four situations (to score a goal). He doesn’t have to go left or right, in the end he will score goals,” predicted Ancelotti.

Someone who can look back and say he scored a goal in his first game at the Bernabeu is Endrick.

Ancelotti noted that the former Palmeiras prodigy “looks very good” and “has shown his qualities in goal”.

“He has a very powerful shot, he is a centre-forward,” noted Ancelotti, which certainly gives number 9 Mbappe something to think about.

When asked about the future of Andriy Lunin, who has been linked with a possible transfer from the Spanish capital, Ancelotti confirmed that Thibaut Courtois’s replacement “will stay”.