James Rodriguez made his name during his three years at Porto. He was transferred to AS Monaco before the 2013/14 season with a fee of €45 million but spent only one season at the club. After the season, in the FIFA World Cup 2014, he got worldwide recognition after a fantastic performance. He earned the golden boot in the tournament and even got a place in the best XI of the World Cup.
The Columbian then joined Real Madrid after a fee of £63 million which made him the most expensive Columbian ever. The transfer fee was the fourth-highest ever at the time. In his first season at Real Madrid, he performed brilliantly under Carlo Ancelotti. But in the next two seasons after the sacking of Ancelotti, he hardly received any game-time under Benitez and Zidane.
However, he performed to his standard when he got the game time. Zidane, who was the manager of the club, preferred Isco over him which led him wanting to move to another club. A deal was struck between Real Madrid and Bayern Munich before the 2017/18 season that James would move to the German-club for a loan-deal of two years with an option to buy.
After spending two seasons at Bayern Munich, it is unclear if Bayern is looking to sign him permanently at the club or not. Regarding to online betting options from the bookmakers, James’ lack of pace and poor defensive ability are the reasons why he has not been in favour with Bayern coach Niko Kovac and it could be a reason why Bayern may decide not to exercise their option to buy the Columbian.
According to Spanish outlet Marca, the German club and James will surely split this summer. The Columbian’s agent Jorge Mendes is looking to have a meeting with the German club about the situation of the player. Some of the rumours are suggesting that James will leave Real Madrid permanently and will not go back to the club after his loan duration ends in this summer. But there have been a few reports that say otherwise. However, it is very unlikely that he would return to Real Madrid since Zidane has always preferred Isco over James Rodriguez.
James Rodriguez does not need to worry about where to play next season as there are a few clubs that can’t wait to sign him. Juventus and Napoli have been very keen to sign the talented 27-year old. If he decides to go to Napoli then it would mean he will be reuniting with his former-boss Carlo Ancelotti.
Jorge Mendes may want James to join Juventus as it would mean James will reunite with Cristiano Ronaldo, who also has the same agent. Juventus has been monitoring the situation of the player for quite some time and could work out a deal with Real Madrid to sign the player. An expected transfer fee for the player could be something between €30 to €45 million.
In January 2019, James was linked to join Arsenal for a six-month loan deal but the deal didn’t take place. Manchester United and Liverpool were also seen interested to sign James Rodriguez a few months ago but currently, these reports seem to fade out and are very unlikely to take place. Juventus seem to be the current favouWrites to sign the talented Columbian.
