Sky Sports: United Offered A Chance To Buy James Rodriguez
REUTERS/Henry Romero
Manchester United have reportedly been offered the chance to buy Real Madrid attacking midfielder James Rodriguez.
The midfielder has widely been rumoured to leave Real this summer, after reports claim he has become frustrated due to a lack of playing time under Zinedine Zidane. This, and Zidane’s reluctance to please the Colombian skipper has led to links between him and United.
The 25-year-old shone at the 2014 World Cup, leading Colombia to the quarter-finals of the event. This lead Real to buy him from Monaco for £71m in the same year. After enjoying a hugely successful first season and a good second season, however, he has fallen down the pecking order under Zidane’s management.
The playmaker has been enjoying a late surge of form at the tail end of the season, but Real have offered United the chance to buy him nonetheless, according to Sky Sports. Though they would want to recoup most of the fee they paid for him, they would probably settle for £50m, three years after they bought him.
Mourinho is also reported to be interested in the midfielder, who can also play as a winger, to bolster his options. A talented player, with age on his side, will surely be a great addition to the Red Devils’ squad.
In April, the former Real Madrid boss was quoted as saying: “I’m sure, at the end of the summer, probably we won’t have exactly my first options, because it’s difficult to succeed in every attempt. But I’m sure we’re going to do something interesting and something to improve our team for next season.
“I’m not a silly manager to say I give the names and you have to give me the players – not at all. I give the names, I give the options, I give the second options in case the first options are not possible, but I give all the information based on my analysis, my experience and projections for the future.”
A Rahul Dravid, Liverpool, Rafael Nadal, and Badminton fan boy. Learnt most of life’s lessons on the field. Work also featured by SportsCafe, Essentially Sports and QuarkMe.