Reasons why James Rodriguez won't want to return to Real Madrid
When James was struggling to get into Zinedine Zidane's Real Madrid lineup, it was a disappointment for those who had so enjoyed the player's incredible performances in the 2014 World Cup.
That tournament made Rodriguez a true star, as his 6 goals propelled his national team Colombia to a surprise quarter-final, only losing out narrowly 2-1 against Brazil. He ended it as the tournament top scorer and in the team of the tournament.
Wishing to secure yet another Galactico, a move to Real Madrid from Monaco immediately followed and he was an initial success, providing both a good number of goals and assists from the midfield.
In 2016/2017, however, Rodriguez's game time was reduced as Zidane preferred Casemiro and Isco to his presence. It was a blow for such a talented player but his initial loan move to Bayern Munich last summer has renewed him and recently he's looked back on top form.
He moved on a 2-year loan deal with the option to buy at the end of this for Bayern but there has already been some talk about the transfer being made permanent earlier than expected.
Here are 5 reasons why Rodriguez might not want to - and probably shouldn't - return to Real Madrid.
#1 Competition For Places
Real Madrid is notorious for their assemblage of supreme talents and President Florentino Perez can seemingly never have enough.
The signing of a superstar like James would have been enough for most other clubs but within a season, midfielders Casemiro, Marco Asensio, and Mateo Kovacic arrived in order to increase the tough competition for places.
In his first campaign, though, Rodriguez was a main first team figure, operating behind the BBC front three of Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale, and Cristiano Ronaldo. He was the creative link in the midfield but also got 17 goals himself, a great tally.
He really found himself marginalized when Zidane took over in 2016 and slowly began to favor a more structured 4-3-3 formation, with Casemiro acting as the defensive steel of the team. Isco rose to prominence in this period, finding some excellent form in the free role Zidane offered him.
What was also notable is that this was despite injury problems Bale suffered in 2016/2017, meaning that Rodriguez's time on the pitch would most likely have been further reduced had the Welsh winger been fit and available.
Despite being so well-stocked in the attacking positions, the media always speculate about the next stars on Madrid's radar and it's very likely that 1 or 2 will join in this coming summer, given the decline of Benzema.
Eden Hazard is often mentioned, as is Neymar, with the rumors really strong surrounding the latter. If either of those two were to make a move to Madrid, then Rodriguez would find it even tougher to break back into the team's starting XI.