5 reasons why Manchester United will regret not signing James Rodriguez
Bayern Munich completed the signing of James Rodriguez from Real Madrid last week, snatching the Colombian from under the noses of Manchester United.
The Premier League club had reportedly agreed to terms with the 25-year-old. However, Carlo Ancelotti and the Bundesliga champions came in at the 11th hour to secure a two-year loan with the option to buy in 2019.
Reports suggested that United would have bought the playmaker outright, and so the Old Trafford may have dodged a bullet given the rumoured £70 million fee, but surely, like Bayern, they could have negotiated a loan deal with an option to buy – a win for both parties.
Here’s why Manchester United should have continued their pursuit of Rodriguez.
#1 Tapping into the South American market via shirt sales
For a club of Manchester United’s stature, it’s safe to say they haven’t had too many South Americans play for the club. An article by Bleacher Report in 2014 suggested that Rodrigo Possebon was in the Top 10 South Americans to play for the Red Devils – he played just three games in the Premier League.
The biggest and most successful South American names to play for the Red Devils include Gabriel Heinze, Juan Sebastian Veron and Carlos Tevez – the last being arguably the greatest. You could throw Angel di Maria in there, but he didn’t have the best of spells.
Throw James Rodriguez in there and Manchester United have a marketable superstar. The shirt sales alone would surely pay for half of his transfer fee, with the 25-year-old being the biggest name in Colombian football in the past decade.
Manchester United would have grown their reach within Colombia which is something Bayern Munich will now certainly profit from. A missed opportunity for Manchester United.