How Rodrigo Muniz became Fulham’s main man… with a little help from ex-Chelsea star

Fulham’s Rodrigo Muniz might have ended up in a very different situation if he hadn’t listened to advice from a former Chelsea player.

Muniz is getting a lot of attention in the Premier League right now. He’s been scoring a bunch of goals and is the top scorer since February started.

But without help from Filipe Luis, Muniz might not even be playing in England.

Before, Muniz didn’t score a lot for Flamengo in Brazil. But people started noticing him, especially after he did a cool bicycle kick at the Maracana stadium in 2021.

He wanted to go to Al-Nassr for a lot of money, but his teammate Filipe Luis told him about his time at Chelsea and advised against going to Saudi Arabia.

So, instead, Muniz joined Fulham for £6.8 million. He was only 20, didn’t speak English, and had a lot to prove.

It’s been over two years, but he’s proving himself now. He scored seven goals in Fulham’s last seven Premier League games, even getting two goals in a 3-0 win against Tottenham.

He’s only 22 but is already starting ahead of Raul Jimenez and Armando Broja. But it took a while for him to become the main player.

In the season when Fulham won the Championship in 2021-22, he only started twice. He spent last season on loan at Middlesbrough, where he wasn’t always picked for games.

Last summer, the coach Marco Silva wanted him to go on loan in Brazil, but Muniz stayed. After Fulham sold Aleksandar Mitrovic, Muniz got his chance to play more.

When he first started in November against Manchester United, he got hurt and had to leave the game. But when he got back, he got another chance and took it. He’s been scoring different kinds of goals and is stronger physically.

His English is improving fast, which has surprised Fulham staff, and fans like his positive attitude.

Muniz isn’t just scoring goals, he’s also getting better at other parts of the game, like winning aerial battles and holding onto the ball.

Fulham was thinking of getting another striker this summer, but if Muniz keeps scoring, they might not need to.

The Brazil manager visited Fulham’s training ground in February to watch Muniz and Andreas Pereira. Pereira got called up, but Muniz didn’t. Muniz said he’s working hard every day because he wants to get called up to the Brazil team.