Real Madrid Sign Brazil Wonderkid in €45m Transfer With Official Announcement Imminent

Real Madrid are close to officially announcing the signing of Brazilian prodigy Rodrygo after completing a €45m transfer for the teenage striker, according to reports.

The 17-year-old has been one of many South Americain talents linked with big money moves to Europe this summer, and Santos striker Rodrygo is now set to link up with his compatriot Vinícius Júnior in the Spanish capital.

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A deal for Rodrygo was initially expected to be announced on Tuesday, with delays over the transfer proving to be a cause for concern for some fans.

But the player's agent Nick Arcuri confirmed that an official announcement had only been held up due to a document that needed to be signed by all of Santos' 10 board members - including club president José Carlos Peres.

"There haven't been any issues, this was simply due to the fact that everyone on the managing board had to sign," Arcuri told Marca.

Europe's biggest clubs have to cross all kinds of red tape when it comes to signing players from South America, most frustratingly of which is being forced to wait until the player turns 18 before they can move across Atlantic.

As a result, Rodrygo will remain at Santos until the summer of 2019 despite the fact he turns 18 in January of next year.

The aforementioned Vinícius Júnior has also been forced to stay in Brazil despite completing a move to Real Madrid some time ago, although the youngster will move to the Santiago Bernabéu later this summer.