5 key departures that ruined Real Madrid's Plan B

#2 James Rodriguez

The relationship between James Rodriguez and Real Madrid didn't fulfill the promise it showed in the Colombian's debut season at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu.

In his first season, James commandeered the attacking play of Los Galacticos, creating chances from nothing, weaving intricate passes through defences, and supplying pin-point crosses from wide. The BBC trident thrived on the gifted attacking midfielder's vision, passing, and playmaking abilities, as Real Madrid transformed into the one of the most dangerous attacks in the world.

However, the sacking of 'La Decima'-winning coach Carlo Ancelotti, in 2015, proved detrimental for James's growth. He never quite settled well under Rafa Benitez, and Zinedine Zidane never trusted him enough to be a regular substitute, let alone, an undisputed starter in the team.

The preference of a holding player in the midfield trio instead of an attacking player, coupled with the rise of Isco---a fellow attacking midfielder struggling for minutes himself, made clear that James had no choice but to leave to get more playtime and avoid stunting his development.

Since the Golden Boy's move to Bayern Munich in 2017, Real Madrid haven't quite had attacking options of the same quality, to call upon, from the bench.