Real Madrid are seeking to sell James Rodriguez this summer and he could be available for as little as £22 million with Manchester United and Arsenal said to be interested in the player. However, his exit from the Spanish club could well be scuppered by the player’s wage demand with report suggesting that the 29-year-old will demand £140,000 per week. Back in the summer fo 2014, after a largely positive FIFA World Cup for Colombia in Brazil, Rodriguez was linked with United, but signed for Real Madrid.
That move seems to have been a negative for him as the player spent three seasons at the Santiago Bernabeu before being loaned to Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich for two seasons; 2017/18 and 2018/19. The Colombian international spent the 2019/20 season with the Los Blancos and did not feature much in a season thwarted by the coronavirus pandemic. The player is set to be a free agent next summer so Real Madrid will be seeking to make some money on the player this summer.
During the 2019/20 season, Rodriguez, 29, made a total of 14 appearances for his club, playing in La Liga, the Copa del Rey, the Supercoppa, and the UEFA Champions League. The Colombian international scored one goal and two assists which is poor form for the player and a major warning sign that United should avoid this transfer. In January 2018, United signed Alexis Sanchez in a swap deal from Arsenal with Henrikh Mkhitaryan heading in the other direction and that was a dreadful move for United.
The Sun has reported that Real Madrid could be seeking just £22 million for the Colombian this summer, which would be a good deal for a club seeking to sign an aging player who seems to be past his best. United should stick by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s plan to rebuild United, signing young and hungry players with the Norwegian seeking to assemble a squad that could last for years, rather than one to last for a season or two. Long-term success seems to be the plan, rather that quick success, which has not worked in the past.
During his career, Rodriguez has been likened to some of the best names in the sport and at the World Cup in 2014, he did look like the next best thing. Since signing for Real Madrid, the 29-year-old has made a total of 125 appearances for the club, scoring 37 goals and 42 assists. At AS Monaco, which is where he was before signing for the Madrid club, the player made 38 appearances, scoring 10 goals and 14 assists, which was considered good at the time. On loan for two seasons at Bayern Munich, Rodriguez made 67 appearances, scoring 15 goals and 20 assists.
United have now been linked with Rodriguez and Douglas Costa in the past few days – despite both player being experienced at both club and country level, it does not mean that they are still good enough to be playing for a club like United. Solskjaer should be allowed to seek young and hungry players that will work hard to be considered in this United squad, not players who seems to be on the decline, as both Rodriguez and Costa seem to be. Both players could be signed for £40 million, which seems great on paper, but in terms of leading from the front and being the difference in United challenging for titles, I am not all that convinced.
Written by John Walker
