Why Real Madrid let go of James Rodriguez so cheaply -- and were perhaps right to do so

James Rodriguez unveiled as a Real Madrid player in 2014

The thing with life is that people come and go, it is just the rule of nature; a cycle of sorts. So it was only natural to expect James Rodriguez to leave Real Madrid at some point or the other, especially given the fact that he was an unnecessary signing right from the very beginning.

Real had just won the Copa del Rey and Champions League in 2014 with Angel di Maria as the most important player in Carlo Ancelotti’s system. However, the Argentine was sold to accommodate the Colombian.

For starters, the number 10 position hasn’t existed at the club ever since Jose Mourinho left. Ancelotti preferred using a 3-man midfield with Xabi Alonso at the base, Luka Modric on the right and Angel di Maria on the left.

So, James never really fit in. The former Monaco man didn’t have the tenacity of Angel di Maria to replace him in the system and the wings were already occupied by Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo. However, Ancelotti made things work very well for the first half of the season, balancing both Isco and James in the team.

But then teams found out the way to exploit the lack of bite in Madrid’s midfield when any one of them played. Madrid then went on to lose their way and ended the season without any trophies under their belt. Subsequently, the Italian manager was sacked.

The two number 10s at Madrid

Rafa Benitez came and went. In the middle, he lost the respect of many players in the dressing room, one of them was James. Zinedine Zidane was then appointed manager –  new dawn for James, or so he thought. The Blancos went on to win the Champions League by the end of the season, but James didn’t play a major role.

Everyone expected him to leave, but he opted to stay in a bid to fight for his place in the team. Another year passed,  the Blancos won the league and the Champions League, but once again the Colombian was a forlorn figure. They conquered Europe and Spain with a system that had no place for a natural number 10.

In the midst of it all, James didn’t really fare badly. In fact, in his three years at the capital of Spain, he scored or assisted at least once in every 90.7 minutes – but still, he could never really forge a place for himself in the team like Isco did.

Naturally, he was going to leave this season. Given that Madrid paid €80 million for him only three years ago, Perez expected to recoup most of it. However, when the monetary details of his loan were revealed – a deal that could see James move for a potential €45 million after two years – it created a bit of a shock.

In a market where Romelu Lukaku was bought for around a €100 million, it is quite shocking that James was let go for a deal potentially worth €45 million. So why did Madrid let him go for such a low price in an inflated market?

James’ low potential sale price is a surprise but understandable

The basic reason is that the former Porto man was desperate to leave. So much that he wanted his departure to be sealed before Madrid took off for the USA for the pre-season tour. With the World Cup coming up next year, James didn’t want to risk his place in the national team and refused to be a rotation player at the capital club.

His displeasure at being a backup was apparent from last season itself. Whenever he was subbed out, he showed his discontentment, to the point where he was actually lip-read calling Zidane a “mother***ker” for taking him out against Leganes.

Madrid saw no point in keeping an unhappy player at the squad and decided to let him go. The fact that no club bid even €50 million for the Colombian proves the lack of interest in him. So when Bayern came calling with their loan deal, Madrid didn’t play the waiting game in a bid to increase the price and green-lighted the transfer.

The monetary gains

Hernandez against Barcelona

With the purchase of Theo Hernandez and the inclusion of Marcos Llorente and Jesus Vallejo, Madrid have already added three players to their squad. Dani Ceballos is also expected to join very soon to complete the quartet of talented youngsters.

And now that James is gone, it frees up the €135000-per-week wages that he got at Madrid – which is just as much as the combined wages of the aforementioned four players. This is also one of the main reasons for Madrid’s readiness to sell him, let alone more competition in midfield with the addition of Llorente and Ceballos.

In a team that doesn’t play a system with a natural 10, James was always a luxury signing. Madrid were the only team in the world that had two out-and-out 10s, but with a system that didn’t require any. Both Isco and James gave Zidane the opportunity to play a different system – one with a natural 10 – but having two players to provide the same tactical flexibility isn’t really necessary or even logical.

Among the two, Isco has stamped his authority in the team, leaving James as the dispensable one.

With James gone now, Madrid have removed an unhappy player that didn’t really fit the system, abridged the wage bill to fit the salaries of the four new recruits within it and reduced the competition in midfield to guarantee more playing time for the ones remaining now.

Not bad, eh?