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What's the story?
Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane has insisted James Rodriguez's future is a matter of club president Florentino Perez's concern, and that he has no curiosity towards the Colombian's future.
The 28-year-old, who spent two years on loan at Bayern Munich, is not considered to be a part of the Frenchman's on-going project at the Santiago Bernabeu.
In case you didn't know..
Zidane did not enjoy a good relationship with James Rodriguez since succeeding Rafa Benitez to the managerial position in January 2016. The Colombian seemingly fell out of favor with the Frenchman and sealed a two-year loan move to the Bavarians in the 2017 summer transfer window.
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The German Champions had an option of signing him following the loan spell, but manager Niko Kovac was not coy over a permanent deal
Also See : Durand Cup, Durand Cup Schedule, Durand Cup Points Table.
The heart of the matter...
Napoli and Atletico Madrid have shown interest in signing him, and his agent Jorge Mendes is in continued negotiations with the Italian outfit. Whereas, Los Rojiblancos president opened the doors for a move across the capital city of Spain for the Colombian.
Rodriguez, who spent his summer representing Colombia in the Copa America, will pair up with his old teammates in the pre-season camp from Monday.
Upon his return to Madrid, Zidane insisted that president Florentino Perez sort James' future, which is certainly not going to end with James staying at Real Madrid beyond this summer.
Ahead of Madrid's International Champions Cup clash against Atletico on Friday, the Los Blancos manager said:
"It is a matter for the club,"
"It is something between them – the presidents – not me."
From the above statement, it is obvious that Zidane does not hold any bitter feelings over the prospect of selling his player to their local rivals.
What's next?
James Rodriguez still has two years left on his Real Madrid contract and it would require a sum of €50 million to land him. Whether he moves to Naples or across town to Atletico still remains to be seen.
