Reports: James Rodriguez decides the club he wants to join

What’s the story?

James Rodriguez has decided he wants to move to Manchester United, according to Daily Star. The player has reportedly even threatened Real Madrid president, Florentino Perez, that he will stay put at the club if he not allowed to join up with Jose Mourinho at Old Trafford, which would lead to headaches to Zinedine Zidane as he wants to fill that position with a new signing.

Colombian team-mate, Carlos Bacca has also admitted that Rodriguez has a difficult decision to make regarding his future. “It is not easy to make the decision to leave Real Madrid and go to another club. He must have a cool head, as he is doing because he is a professional.” Bacca said.

In case you didn’t know...

Manchester United are not the only club interested in the player. Paris Saint-German are also believed to be interested in acquiring his services whilst also keeping tabs on Monaco wonderkid, Kylian Mbappe. The Colombian international managed just 33 appearances for the Blancos last season and is believed to have no future at the Spanish capital under Zidane. In the limited time that was offered, he managed 11 goals and 13 assists but found himself left out of the 18-man squad in the Champions League final.

The heart of the matter

Although the player prefers a move to Old Trafford, there seems to be a lot of complexity in the deal before it could happen. Perez reportedly wants to recoup the €80m which they spent on the midfielder back in 2014 and won’t sell him for cheap. Mourinho, on the other hand, doesn't consider him a priority and is not ready to spend that much on the player.

Thus, naturally, Perez wants him to move to PSG rather than United. This standoff makes the situation all the more sticky and it won’t be easy to strike a deal between both the parties.

What’s next?

The next thing to do is to either sell Rodriguez to United for a smaller fee or convince Rodriguez to join PSG, but the player doesn’t prefer the switch to Ligue 1. However, with the big wage bill that Rodriguez commands, either he or Perez will have to compromise with his future at Real all but over.

Author’s take

With the player keen on a move to Old Trafford, it would be interesting to see whether the deal takes places with all the complications involved. It is no surprise that Mourinho doesn’t prefer Rodriguez as they reportedly prioritise Morata and Perisic. So far, in three years in Spain, Rodriguez’s performance hasn’t been up to the mark.

Whilst, the forward has been a star at the international level, I think United are also right not to target a player who hasn’t performed consistently outside the Portuguese and French Leagues.