After spending the past two seasons on loan at Bayern Munich, it appears that attacking midfielder James Rodríguez is set to stay at Real Madrid for the 2019-20 season.
Los Blancos have apparently made the decision to keep James due to the serious knee injury suffered by Marco Asensio earlier in the preseason. While the club’s original plans included the sale of Rodríguez during the summer window, it now appears that they will need to keep him around at least until next summer.
The move is especially surprising after coach Zinedine Zidane’s public comments about Real Madrid’s desire to move away from James. Despite scoring 28 goals in only 77 career matches with the club, many feel that he hasn’t lived up to the hype after his signing in 2014.
Rodríguez has found a home in Germany over the past two seasons, where he’s been a key part of a Bayern Munich squad that has won the Bundesliga in both of James’s seasons there.
It now appears that James will have a second lease on life at the Santiago Bernabéu, whether the club’s current coach likes it or not. It might be James’ last chance to impress with the club, or else he could be sent elsewhere in the near future.
