Rodrigo Moreno: Valencia's €30 Million Loanee No One Talks About
Valencia right-forward Rodrigo Moreno is on loan from Benfica, yet despite being a €30/£23 million-valued loanee, he is flying under the radar, so what is his story?
| Spain | RF/CF | 23 | 5'11" | 154 lbs |
"Dia especial!! Muy contento x todo y x todos!! ⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️ pic.twitter.com/OYmeVAa232
— Rodrigo Moreno (@Rodrigo_M) August 18, 2014"
When media outlets report Rodrigo is on loan from Benfica, it is only scratching the surface. A more accurate sentence would be: Rodrigo is on loan from Singaporean billionaire Peter Lim.
"Rodrigo's [playing] rights were purchased for €30 million this past January by [Lim's] Meriton [Capital Limited]," per Marca.
Marred in protracted negotiations to take over Valencia, Lim is not the owner (yet).
In an act of goodwill which doubles as a statement of intent outlining Lim's commitment to Valencia, he moved Rodrigo to Los Che.
"He [Lim] has brought players such as Rodrigo and Andre Gomes [on loans from Benfica], helped in managing to acquire Alvaro Negredo [on loan from Manchester City]," Valencia president Amadeo Salvo said, per AS (h/t Football Espana). "Is that not enough to convince people [that] he [Lim] wants to buy Valencia?"
Rodrigo is stuck in footballing purgatory. Neither Benfica nor Valencia have majority ownership of Rodrigo's playing rights. Instead, Rodrigo is owned by Lim, whose takeover of Valencia has been delayed.
The gray area in Rodrigo's case—he started three of Valencia's first four La Liga games—is an emerging trend in European football.
This is why UEFA are planning to "introduce new rules to tackle urgently what it sees as the scourge of third-party ownership of players," per David Conn and Owen Gibson at The Guardian.
Not only is Rodrigo a prominent third-party ownership case study, his "loan" to Valencia is worth more than Manchester United signing Radamel Falcao, on loan from Monaco (€25.6/£20 million, per Mark Ogden at The Telegraph).
Four years ago, Rodrigo was in the vicinity of United.
On loan from Benfica, he was playing up north at Bolton Wanderers in Greater Manchester.
Rodrigo scored only once and registered an assist.
He was nowhere near as impressive as Chelsea loanee Daniel Sturridge, who scored eight goals in 12 Premier League games, foreshadowing his transition into an elite No. 9.
Though, Rodrigo fared better than compatriot Marcos Alonso, a left-back who was the reserve to seasoned pro Paul Robinson.
The problem Rodrigo faced at Bolton was he could not beat out Lee Chung-Yong, who was tied with Johan Elmander for the most assists at the club that season (six), in the right-wing slot.
Undeterred by Rodrigo starting 23.5 percent of Bolton's Premier League games, Benfica were resolute in their decision to retain the Spaniard.
"I have tried everything to push through a deal for Rodrigo, but the president of Benfica [Luis Filipe Vieira] says he [Rodrigo] is not for sale at any price," Bolton chairman Phil Gartside said, per O Jogo (h/t Sky Sports). "I am convinced that, in a few years' time, Rodrigo will be a global star."
Benfica shared Gartside's view, but most importantly, Lim was convinced.
Two years and 16 days after Gartside's projection, Lim vindicated Vieira's decision to hold onto Rodrigo, per AFP (h/t Ten Sport):
"A Hong Kong-based company called Meriton Capital Limited has bought 100 percent of the rights to Rodrigo, a Spaniard who was born in Brazil, and is Benfica's joint leading scorer in the [Portuguese] league this season, for €30 million."
Rodrigo's substantial fee is based on the dreaded P word—potential.
Lim may have taken into account the testimony of former Bolton manager Owen Coyle, who believes the Spaniard has "Galactico" quality (Rodrigo played for Real Madrid Castilla).
"I would never rule Rodrigo out of returning to Real Madrid," Coyle said, per Phil Gordon at Scotland's The Herald. "Rodrigo is outstandingly quick, energetic and brave. He is an unbelievable talent."
The feeling is mutual as Rodrigo credits part of his footballing development to Coyle.
"I wasn't a regular starter for Bolton but I did get a lot of minutes. I enjoyed it," Rodrigo said, per Marc Iles at The Bolton News. "It was my first year as a professional in a first team and I'll always be grateful to Owen Coyle for taking me to Bolton."
Rodrigo has displayed glimpses of "unbelievable talent" at Valencia this season.
Receiving a pass from Gomes, Rodrigo effortlessly glided past Espanyol left-back Anaitz Arbilla and squared the ball to Valencia left attacking midfielder Pablo Piatti.
That play encapsulated Rodrigo's "outstandingly quick" twitch muscles Coyle was referencing.
Tussling with Getafe left-back Sergio Escudero, Rodrigo showed imperious technical ability by bringing the ball down and turning in one flowing motion.
Rodrigo flashed playmaking prowess when his through-ball dissected Getafe's defence and created a goal for Valencia centre-forward Paco Alcacer.
Converting a penalty past Getafe goalkeeper Vicente Guaita provided Rodrigo some closure after his feeble penalty was saved by Sevilla goalkeeper Beto in last season's UEFA Europa League final.
Those are positive plays.
What Rodrigo should not be doing is emulating teammate Rodrigo de Paul.
Rodrigo's directness, his upper-echelon skill and willingness to make the impact play have factored into him scoring once and providing two goals in his opening three La Liga games.
Most people are not talking about Rodrigo, but the €30 million loanee is on course to transition into a marquee name.
Early signs are that Lim has bet on a winner.
Statistics via WhoScored
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