What’s the story?
Real Madrid star James Rodriguez will be staying at Real Madrid, his father, Wilson Rodriguez confirmed yesterday. Speaking to the Colombian media, Wilson Rodriguez left no one in doubt that his reportedly ‘unsettled’ son will be staying at the Santiago Bernabeu, saying, “He has a commitment to Real Madrid and he has a contract. He is going to stay.”
His agent, Jorge Mendes, had also earlier said that James would not be leaving Los Blancos, telling Spanish news outlet AS, “James will not be leaving Madrid in January.”
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James Rodriguez has suffered a lack of playing time under Zinedine Zidane and has been linked with a whole host of clubs. The Colombian is the 20th most used player in Real Madrid’s 24 man squad, despite Real Madrid paying AS Monaco a whopping €80 million for his services after the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Despite that, James still remains a prolific player when he is afforded the chance, being the most involved midfielder for Real Madrid.
The heart of the matter
Juventus and Chelsea reportedly made serious overtures to Real Madrid with a view to buying the Colombian. The interest from the Premier League club was apparently genuine, with James spotted at the UK embassy in Colombia – but the move seems to have fallen through due to a wage issue.
However, with both his agent and his father confirming that James has decided to stay, that should put a final nail in the coffin of rumours regarding his departure
What next?
While Zinedine Zidane does not seem to trust James’ much, he will no doubt be encouraged to have a midfielder of his quality as backup. Real Madrid face a huge fixture congestion starting from January and have already lost Mateo Kovacic and Lucas Vazquez to injury, which should afford James the chance to play centrally or wide.
Sportskeeda’s Take
James Rodriguez is a quality midfielder, no doubt, but the Colombian should really consider a move to pastures anew. Picking up a sizeable salary at Real Madrid while spending most of the time on the bench is not how one of the game’s best midfielders ought to spend the prime years of his career.
Since it seems that he will be staying, James can hope that injuries and a busy fixture list offer him the chance to rescue his Real Madrid career, although that does seem unlikely. He might be just biding his time and hoping that a summer move will result in a better offer.
