Rodrigo Moreno: How is the ex-Leeds United star getting on at Al-Rayyan? | OneFootball

Rodrigo Moreno left Leeds United during the summer transfer window following the club's relegation to the Championship to move to Qatari side Al-Rayyan.

It's fair to say the Spaniard had a mixed time of things in West Yorkshire during his three-year spell, with injuries hampering him in each campaign he spent with the club, as well as never truly fitting into the tactical plan of any of Leeds' managers.

He was deployed as more of an attacking-midfielder under Marcelo Bielsa, but as a striker he lacked some of the physical attributes to lead the line and be a focal point, despite the goals being difficult to ignore in his final campaign with the club last year.

He finished as the Whites' top scorer last season and ended the season with 15 goals and two assists from 35 games; all the more impressive when considering his side ended the season in 19th in the Premier League.

The forward then received a call-up to the Spanish national team off the back of that good form, and may well be hoping to get into their squad for the European Championships at the end of the 2023/24 season.

Rodrigo appeared for 45 minutes against Italy in the Nations League, but was an unused substitute in the following game against Croatia. He has not been called-up since for any subsequent European Qualifiers or friendlies, though. He has eight goals from 28 caps.

A number of first-team players were always likely to depart this summer with Leeds' relegation confirmed to the Championship, especially those in the squad who had played at the elite level previously, such as the Spaniard.

According to Phil Hay, Rodrigo's release clause to move to Al-Rayyan was set at around £3 million, meaning the Whites made a significant loss on the Spanish international, with Rodrigo joining Leeds in the summer of 2020 on a four-year deal from Valencia for a then club-record fee of around £27 million (€30 million), as per Sky Sports.

However, the 32-year-old was into the final year of his deal at Elland Road, forcing Leeds' hand somewhat. He went on to score 28 goals and collect a further five assists from 97 games for the Whites, having previously spent time in La Liga with Valencia and Portugal with Benfica.

Things have been going fairly well, unsurprisingly, for the forward after his move to Qatar. Here, we take a look at exactly how he's getting on with his new side.

The standard of the Qatar Stars League is well below that of the Premier League, highlighting that this was always likely to be a move which Rodrigo could take in his stride.

The former Leeds man has contributed to nine goals in 10 games for Al-Rayyan during the first half of the campaign, with five goals and four assists. Rodrigo has predominantly been used as a striker but also off the left flank as well.

The Spaniard has only missed two games so far, winning five of the ten games he has started, with a further four defeats. Al-Rayyan sit fourth in the league, which is made up of 12 teams.

However, things haven't all been rosy for Rodrigo. The striker was sent off after just nine minutes in a 4-0 defeat to league leaders Al-Sadd and the suspension saw him miss a key game during the Christmas period, but his side won 6-0 in his absence.

That was their final game before a break in the season throughout the end of December until restarting again this week. Al-Rayyan's return to action comes against Al-Shamal on February 20th.