Why Did Manchester United Stop Pursuing James Rodriguez?
REUTERS/Andrea Comas
Bayern Munich recently announced that they have signed James Rodriguez on a 2-year loan deal with the club, in a deal which goes around €13 million in loan fees over the two years with a clause of a permanent move.
But less than a week ago, Manchester United looked certain to walk away with a fat deal for the Colombian forward. So what might have happened in the middle?
Real Madrid looked very keen to let go of the player, as it was neither in the club or the player’s best interest to let his talents rot away on the bench whilst he could be a guaranteed starter in almost every other club in the world. And, with his move, Real Madrid could also have offloaded some of the wages they pay for him every week.
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The 26-year-old was put under consideration for Manchester United several times during this transfer season, but as per Duncan Castles of Yahoo, Jose Mourinho thought it is best to look away from Real Madrid to address their midfield requirements.
While it may surprise many that James might be moving to the only other club where a starting spot for him isn’t all that certain, there is a sound reason behind it. As a player who’s approaching his peak playing age, he wants to play under a manager who understands him and his style of play.
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REUTERS/Juan Medina
Carlo Ancelotti, who has previously managed him at Real Madrid knows his strengths and weaknesses best. It also helps that his relationship with the manager would allow him a much more free role in the midfield.
Looking at it from Manchester United’s point of view, the 2014 World Cup Golden Boot winner would not really be a sound investment considering the physical demands and continuous games in England.
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James has missed upto 10 games in the past 3 seasons for Los Blancos due to his injury, and this could only get worse at the Premier League, where football is rougher.
A second reason would be the high price Real Madrid were demanding. With United already having splurged on Lukaku, it seemed unlikely they would get another high-profile signing during this transfer season itself.
Written by Srivats Venkateswaran 
Sports writer with a long experience of writing in football.Was football team head at EssentiallySports. Still deeply misses Sir Alex and Berbatov at United. An introvert at heart with a poetic hand. Engineer by choice, writer by passion.