Messi's fault? Rodrygo reveals criticism he received after incident vs Messi

Rodrygo is one of the most crucial players for Real Madrid and the Brazilian national team. Some football fans consider him underrated as he produces great performances, yet many focus on players like Vinicius Jr. Rodrygo argues that he is in the light of many since he plays for Brazil and Real Madrid. Rodrygo spoke with The Guardian about mental health, the pressure he has during his career, and criticism after a Brazil vs. Argentina game that involved an incident between him and Lionel Messi.

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Rodrygo spoke about mental health and how he has dealt with criticism throughout his career. Rodrygo said, "I play for Brazil & the biggest club in the world. If I couldn’t handle pressure, I wouldn’t be here. Dealing with criticism? I try not to worry about what people are going to say. We need to be careful with our mental health. I advise everyone, not just the players, to look for a psychologist. I started in March last year. It was my father who suggested it. At first, I didn't want to do it because I had the prejudice of thinking that it was something for people with problems. When I did it, I realized that the psychologist was someone who was there to help me."

Rodrygo also spoke about how fast time goes by, but he is happy to help youngsters on his team. Rodrygo said, "You have to be more focused and work harder to make history. There are times when I think: 'Damn it, I'm no longer the youngest on the team.' But I can say that I am happy to have this experience. Although I am very young, I am already treated as a mature person, and I help newcomers as much as I can.”

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Rodrygo's incident with Messi led to online abuse of the Brazilian

Brazil and Argentina faced off in the World Cup qualifiers match last November. A delay before the game led to tension among the players, and Lionel Messi and Rodrygo argued. Rodrygo talked about the abuse he received after that and said, "I suffered verbal abuse on social networks from many Argentines. It was a very sad situation and it affected me. I was very sad. But we tracked down all the profiles that sent me abuse. There must be a lot of them. They were scared the last few days when they received the lawsuit. People think they can write whatever they want on social media, but then they get sued at home for it."