Real Madrid midfielder James Rodriguez reportedly came very close to signing for Chelsea, before his superstar teammate Cristiano Ronaldo had his say.
Confidencial Colombia have made some sensational claims in an exclusive report regarding their national treasure James Rodriguez. The report stated that Premier League giants Chelsea had recently offered Real Madrid €90 million for the services of Rodriguez, only to be rejected by the player himself.
Los Blancos had reportedly given James the right to accept or reject the deal, as the Blues used the money they received from the sale of Oscar to register the huge bid. The report states that it was none other than Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo who convinced James to stay.
Ronaldo and James Rodriguez share an excellent relationship at the Bernabeu, and the Ballon d’Or winner is described as one of the Colombian’s ‘confidants’ at Real. The report adds that Chelsea were even willing to offer James a significant increase in wages, but were still thwarted by the Colombian.
The future of Colombian superstar James Rodriguez has been up in the air since the arrival of new manager Zinedine Zidane. James is not a key player under Zizou, and spends more minutes on the bench than on the pitch.
This has led to some intense interest from a number of Premier League sides. Chelsea recently joined long-time admirers Manchester United in the pursuit of James, with their domestic rivals Arsenal also linked to the player.
However the situation with James and Real Madrid seems to have changed, if Confidencial Colombia is to be believed. The exclusive report winds up with the claim that Real Madrid and Zinedine Zidane are trying to fix their relationship with James, and the 25-year-old will feature more prominently in the starting XI this year.
The Colombian is one of the most highly rated players on the planet, and recently showed what he can do in Real’s Copa del Rey game against Sevilla, scoring a superb brace. If the report is true and Ronaldo has really convinced James to say, then we can expect a lot more of those performances by James in a white shirt.
