The summer for James Rodríguez will be very long. The playmaker is still enjoying his holidays in his country after the Copa América with Colombia, where he was one of the best players of the tournament. In a few days, he will have to come back to work and Real Madrid are waiting for him, although they would like to sell him before. Where will he go?
James Rodríguez knows that his future at Real Madrid is over. Zinedine Zidane doesn’t want him in the squad and the Colombian playmaker doesn’t mind to leave the club, but he’s also looking for his future. According to some reports, he already has a deal with Napoli and Atlético Madrid, and he would even prefer to go to the Madrid neighbours, but of course Los Blancos are not willing to allow this transaction.
Meanwhile, De Laurentiis, Napoli’s boss, is very angry about the situation: “I don’t understand why they gave James on loan to Bayern and they asked us €42M for him”, commented the owner. However, De Laurentiis is known as a tough negotiation in the world of football. Asking for huge amounts of money for some players like Cavani, Lavezzi or more recently Koulibaly. Now he wants a top player as a bargain.
Of course, Real Madrid prefer to sell James Rodríguez to Napoli rather than to Atlético. Actually it would be a huge mistake to allow a rival to reinforce the squad with a top player, even if James has played far from his top level in the recent years. Marcos Llorente’s sale to Atlético is enough between the two Madrid giants.
The whole city of Napoli is expecting a huge blow in the market like James Rodríguez. He would be the centrepiece of Ancelotti’s plan, but Atlético de Madrid are also looking to add more quality to their squad after Griezmann’s departure and despite Joao Felix’s arrival. At the end, Real Madrid should decide the final destination, although players use to have the last word.
