The CIES Football Observatory, a prestigious Swiss educational and research institution focused on sports, has recently published a brief ranking highlighting five under-25 footballers who, according to their data, have a very similar footballing profile to that of Real Madrid star Rodrygo Goes.
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This list, made up of five footballers of various nationalities, includes players from the Belgian, German, and even Japanese leagues, but also mentions a Brazilian, Juan Alvina Bezerra, a 21-year-old footballer shining in Ukrainian football who, according to this list, would be the fifth footballer with a profile most similar to that of Rodrygo.
The five footballers most similar to Rodrygo Goes according to CIESFO
Initially, when referring to a “similar or closer profile to that of Rodrygo Goes,” both the style of play and the versatility of the player in question are considered.
Closest U2⃣5⃣ profiles to #Rodrygo
🥇 #ZalanVancsa 🇭🇺
🥈 #ViktorDjukanovic 🇲🇪
🥉 #JustinNjinmah 🇩🇪
4⃣ #AyumuYokoyama 🇯🇵
5⃣ #JuanAlvina 🇧🇷
More exclusive stats 👉 https://t.co/P0Ohpx4Mt7 pic.twitter.com/ijNNKwZpp4— CIES Football Obs (@CIES_Football) August 17, 2024
According to this ranking, the footballer who most aims to become the “next Rodrygo” is Zalán Vansca, a 19-year-old Hungarian winger who is already of interest to some of the world’s top clubs.
He is followed by Viktor Djukanovic (Standard de Liege), Justin Njinmah (Werder Bremen), and Ayumu Yokoyama (Sagan Tosu), who occupy the second, third, and fourth positions on the list, respectively.
The one responsible for closing the list would be, coincidentally, the only Brazilian on the list: the 21-year-old right winger born in Rio de Janeiro, Juan Alvina Bezerra. This forward, who was trained at Vasco da Gama, moved to Ukrainian football in September 2023 and has managed to consolidate himself playing at a high level at FK Oleksandriya, scoring important goals and creating many chances.
Since his arrival at the club, he has played a total of 15 matches in which he has scored five goals and provided four assists, and if his trajectory continues as planned, he is expected to make the leap to the elite of European football to consolidate himself playing at a level very similar to that of Rodrygo.
Will he achieve it?
