5 Most Expensive Players Who Were Sent Out on Loan

#2 James Rodriguez (Signed for £63m): Real Madrid to Bayern Munich

James Rodriguez failed to nail down a consistent starting berth at Real Madrid

It's not easy to live up to expectations after a superb World Cup. The quadrennial tournament has the habit of making unlikely heroes who can steal the spotlight when they hit their peak before seeing their stock fall.

James Rodriguez is no exception. The Colombian midfielder made waves in 2014 when he won the Golden Boot in Brazil which saw some glorious goals. And it prompted Real Madrid to spend a whopping £63m to sign him from Monaco (fourth most expensive signing ever at the time).

The midfielder had a very good first season, with 13 goals and 13 assists in La Liga. But soon after, he struggled to convince Zinedine Zidane to start enough games.

From 2,290 minutes in his debut season, it dropped down to 1,180 in his final season at the Bernabeu. It was expected as players such as Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, and Isco were undroppable.

Real saw it fit to loan him to Bayern Munich on a two-year loan deal with a €13m loan fee. Under Jupp Heynckes, he did find that spark that made him such a valuable asset as he had his best season (7 goals and 11 assists in Bundesliga) since his debut campaign with Real.