Real Madrid supporters can easily discussed if James Rodríguez deal with Bayern Munich was satisfactory for Los Blancos. The Colombian playmaker left on loan the club for the next two seasons, where Bayern will pay €5M to the Spanish club. After these two years they will decide whether to sign him or not. Obviously, the Bavarian club will pay his salary.
Los Blancos paid €80M to Monaco only three years ago for James Rodríguez, so there are a lot of people questioning his departure and the deal with Bayern Munich, a rival in the Champions League. Is this a good operation? Was James Rodríguez successful at Real Madrid?
The truth is that James Rodríguez is the third most expensive purchase in Real Madrid history, only behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale. His first season was superb, scoring 17 goals and giving 18 assist with Carlo Ancelotti, although the club didn’t win any big title.
His protagonism went down with Rafa Benítez and he disappeared with Zinedine Zidane. In his second season he scored 8 goals and gave 10 assists, whereas in the last one he saw 11 times the net and gave 13 assists. He won two Champions League, although he didn’t play any minute in both finals.
With these numbers, we can’t say that James Rodríguez was a blow for Los Blancos, but we can expect something else for a €80M footballer. He was accused of partying in the dangerous Madrid night life and he was also chased by the police for exceeding the speed limits. These problems outside the pitch could have affected him on the ground.
However, when he was at his top, James showed he could make the difference. The Colombian playmaker scored great crackers in these three years and he still has a great potential. For this reason, this sale to a European rival could and should be questionable for Florentino Pérez.
