MANCHESTER UNITED | JAMES RODRIGUEZ SAYS GOODBYE TO FANS

REAL MADRID played yesterday their last official match in their home ground, the "Santiago Bernabeu Stadium", against Sevilla FC. It was the last chance this season for the Real Madrid fans & followers to see their heroes in action.

In the 60th min JAMES RODRIGUEZ saw the substitution call & went to the centre of the field & applauded the fans with emotive gratitude. The coming off was paused, honest & the players face signalled  that this perhaps was a final goodbye. Thanks for the memories.

In fact this is the interpretation by most Spanish Football observers, that James Rodriguez did in fact say "goodbye".

News late last week & reconfirmed today is that James Rodriguez has a pre-agreement with Manchester United, via Jose Mourinho, for next season. Both James & Mourinho share the same manager, Jorge Mendes, & thus the contacts have been agile.

James Rodriguez, like others before him e.g. Ozil, came as future Golden Ball candidates & leave (left) with disappointment & a sense of frustration. The reason are many & complex, you can read them elsewhere, but in most cases the attitude of the player has not merged with the necessities of the "biggest Football Club in the World". To leave Real Madrid ( & FC Barcelona ) is to step down the scale & play in a "lesser" environment : my absolute respect for all Clubs. The history of comments made publicly & expressed attitudes by James has not helped him at all, the Columbian has not managed well his time on the bench. The explosion of the likes of Isco & now Asensio has also narrowed the window of opportunity in the future & it may have signalled its "time to move on".

It is now up to the Clubs to conclude the transfer, if at all true that James has signed with Man. Utd a pre-contract. Real Madrid will not want to lose money, the Colombian cost around 70M€ & Real Madrid will want to recoup their Investment. Another possibility is that James as entered the operation with United keeper David De Gea, player on the Real Madrid wish list for next season.

Stay tuned!

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INTER MILAN IN MADRID FOR JAMES RODRIGUEZ?

What was the owner of Italian Football Club Inter Milan, Jindong Zhang, doing in Madrid with Real Madrid President Florentino Perez? The correct reply is visiting the Real Madrid Football Training "City" of "Valdebebas". Proof is the photo uploaded today in the Inter Milan Twitter account as seen below. 

Italian & local Sports media speculate that one of the prime reasons of the visit by Zhang was to discuss Colombian midfielder JAMES RODRIGUEZ. The rumour mill is currently hot with speculation that Inter Milan is going after the Real Madrid player & perhaps there was some negotiations going on. Real Madrid will not let go the Colombian for less that 60-70M€ so the discussion may take some time to find a "common ground".

We are sure talks will continue tonight in a fancy restaurante with some excellent Spanish wine. Stay tuned! 

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REAL MADRID | THE 85M€ OFFER FOR JAMES RODRIGUEZ

Real Madrid Colombian star James Rodriguez is having a "difficult" period with his Club spending more time on the bench than on the field. Last mid-week Champions League electric substitution performance against Sporting Portugal, with his last minute cross that lead to the winning goal, has put James back in the favour of Coach Zidane.

However, there have been rumours the past months of possible transfer moments by the Colombian that have made the press. From "Sports Illustrated" it comes to light that Real Madrid received a very lucrative 85M€ offer from Italian Club Inter Milan. This happen right up to & close to the closing of the Summer transfer market window, the 31st of August.

According to the cited source, James Rodriguez rejected the offer because he considered the Italian Club to be below the level that will contribute towards his professional objectives. The Colombian midfielder also made it clear to Coach Zidane that Real Madrid is the Club he wants to play, & that his attitude would change, competing for a field position. 

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REAL MADRID | THE BENITEZ - PEREZ CONVERSATIONS

English paper "Daily Mail" published today supposed conversations between Real Madrid President Florentino Perez & ex-Coach Rafa Benitez. One of the published quotes is a real beauty & I have no option but to post here; Florentino Perez to Rafa Benitez:

"Do you know how many shirts James sells? Kovacic does not sell us a single shirt"

This apparently was said during the period when James Rodriguez was sitting more on the bench than playing on the field. The English paper article strengthens what many Football insiders already suspect (or know), that President Florentino Perez is an interventionist. 

One of the reasons Carlo Ancelotti was let go was that President Perez believed that he was too soft, that the players had gotten the upper-hand over their Coach.   

These "little" filtrations from "insiders" give an insight to the inner workings of the World Biggest Football Club, & how the economic factors sit alongside ( or above) the Sporting issue.

Difficult place for a coach to do his work.

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REAL MADRID | JAMES RODRIGUEZ WANTS A PAY RISE

There is a rumour doing the Spanish Football & Sports media circus that English Premier League Club Manchester United has asked about Real Madrid Colombian forward James Rodriguez. Concretely the players representative Jorge Mendes was said to have been approached & directly asked how the player feels these days at Real Madrid.

The rumours that James Rodriguez is not "tight" with his Coach Rafael Benitez has lead to all sorts of speculations where Manchester United is thought to be fishing in rough waters.

However, there is a coincidence. According to alternative Sports media sources James Rodriguez has expressed to the Spanish Football Club that he would like his salary to be risen to the level of Bale & Sergio Ramos, around 10M€ per season. What better way than to put some pressure on Real Madrid citing the interest of another Club, the case being Manchester United. 

A scenario not likely but part of the upcoming poker match between player & Club. The rumoured bad relationship with Coach Benitez is another "wild card" that could be used if things get stalled. 

Stay tuned!

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REAL MADRID | 80M€ FOR JAMES RODRIGUEZ TOO MUCH ?

Is 80,000,000 € too much for a Football Player? Depends, Cristiano Ronaldo cost 96M€ & now everyone is in accorde that he was relatively "cheap". But what about Colombian International JAMES RODRIGUEZ? Real Madrid has paid Monaco close to 80M€ to have the 23 year old Football player whos only jump to fame so far has been his 6 goals in the last World Cup in Brazil. Too much?

Check the latest economic study by the Consultancy Euromericas picked up by Spanish Sports daily "AS". According to their study the new Real Madrid player James Rodriguez has already sold 345,000 shirts with his Number 10. With each shirt costing approximately around 97€ the player has already generated 33,400,000€ in just 4 days & he has not even played a single match with his new Club. The boom has come from Colombia & from Asia with the Internet channel being the main driving financial motor. 

Real Madrid keeps around 60-70% of the Marketing generation revenues of James Rodriguez, that is, what he generates from his "image", be that Sporting wear, commercials or any other economic activity the uses James Rodriguez to promote their products or services.

Now, to answer the question, is 80M€ too much to pay for James Rodriguez? Think the reply is obvious, by the start of the Spanish Liga season at the end of August the player would have generated more than 50% of his cost & if James Rodriguez plays well & wins titles Real Madrid will actually profit way beyond the initial investment. 

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REAL MADRID TO PRESENT JAMES RODRIGUEZ AS THEIR NEW PLAYER THIS AFTERNOON

The Football World never stops to amaze me. Four weeks back Colombian & Monaco Forward Radamel Falcao was the hot favourite to sign for Real Madrid, today the reality is that fellow countryman & team-mate James Rodriguez is now in Madrid passing the medical exam.

The fact is that JAMES RODRIGUEZ will be presented this afternoon by REAL MADRID CF as their new signing after they have shut a deal with Monaco. The details suggest a 75M€ transfer fee plus 5M€ more if the player succeeds with Champions League, other titles & objectives. The player signs for the next 6 years & will receive a salary close to 8M€ per season.

James Rodriguez in Madrid passing the medical exam

The news is not as yet official but everything indicates that it will be in hours. The players schedule today is to go over to the "Santiago Bernabeu Stadium" to sign his contract & then be officially presented to Spanish & World media around 19.00-20.00. The player will later dress his players uniform (with Nº10) & be greeted by the Real Madrid fans to later attend an expected packed Press Conference. 

James Rodriguez joins German Toni Kroos as the new Real Madrid signings, with a third expected soon to be goalkeeper Keylor Navas. Apart from James Rodriguez being a World Soccer Star on the rise, the player has an enormous marketing attraction that should open up further markets in Latin America, USA & Asia. The Real Madrid model again is in full motion & the cashier keeps sounding. 

NEWSFLASH:
James Rodriguez has been officially presented by Real Madrid this afternoon in front of 45,000 fans at the "Santiago Bernabeu Stadium".

Welcome to Spanish Football!

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REAL MADRID - MONACO SHUT JAMES RODRIGUEZ TRANSFER ?

I realize that the following news piece will excite many Real Madrid fans around the World, however it is not official & is still in the speculation realm. Spanish Sports daily "AS" announce today that REAL MADRID & MONACO have come to an agreement to transfer JAMES RODRIGUEZ to the Spanish Football Club. The transfer figure "dances" between 75-80M€ & it is not clear if a Real Madrid player will be included in the operation to lower the price further. Monaco likes Real Madrid goalkeeper Diego Lopez, but the player is not keen to move. 

However, with player or without player, these sources speculate that the official announcement could be made in the coming days with a presentation in Madrid mid-end of this week. This will need to be confirmed.

Negotiations between Clubs have been ongoing & non-stop over the weekend. The player was meant to be with his team, Monaco, yesterday in Barranquilla (Colombia) & today in Miami with his side. However, James Rodriguez took a plane to Niza (France) with a technical stop-over in Madrid yesterday. Everything indicates that the player is currently in Monaco to shut the "fine details" of the transfer & later officially say good-bye to the Monaco fan-base.

If the news is correct & James Rodriguez transfers to Real Madrid, the Colombian will join his new team the 1st of August for pre-season.

Stay tuned!

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JAMES RODRIGUEZ CLOSER TO REAL MADRID

In Football nothing is impossible, & with Real Madrid it seems the slogan is the same. What started as a media driven clamour has turned into a real transfer possibility according to the major Football papers. Yesterday French daily "L´Equipe" wrote that Monaco & Colombian International JAMES RODRIGUEZ was very close to signing for Real Madrid CF. In fact, the French paper speculated that next Monday could be the day that things could be official. 

Today Spanish Sports daily "Marca" gives details of the negotiations. Real Madrid & James Rodriguez have an apparent agreement which consists of a 5 year contract at 8M€/season. According to the same source Monaco & Real Madrid are negotiating with the former asking for 85M€ while the latter offers 75M€. Thus the front cover of today's "Marca" saying "...just 10M€ away from Madrid".  Other media sources add that Real Madrid could include a player in the operation to lower the Monaco price, like goalkeeper Diego Lopez, but I personally doubt that Lopez will accept. However, if Real Madrid signs Keylor Navas - Levante & Costa Rica goalie - they may offer Navas out to Monaco on loan for a season. An interesting option which may interest. 

The possibilities of James Rodriguez landing at Real Madrid depends on Argentine International Angel Di Maria being transferred. Real Madrid Coach Ancelotti is against selling Di Maria but the player is determined to leave after the Spanish Club refuses to lift his economic conditions. The Argentine has offers with Paris St Germain apparently a firm candidate with a 60M€ + offer that would go to buy James Rodriguez from Monaco.

But there are more signs that indicate a James Rodriguez signing by Real Madrid as published by Spanish Sports paper "AS":

• Real Madrid has assigned a room at "Valdebebas" (their training HQ) already to James Rodriguez, room 110 between Benzema (Nº9) & Bale (Nº11),
• James Rodriguez will have the Nº10 on his shirt,
• Real Madrid is currently looking for a home for James Rodriguez & his family in Madrid.

The transfer will be official once Real Madrid announce officially the transfer of Angel Di Maria.

As you can read (& see) things have raced since we first speculated a possible Real Madrid interest for James Rodriguez. In fact it looks a certain reality & a question of days. Stay tuned! 

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REAL MADRID - JAMES RODRIGUEZ AGREEMENT ?

The following news piece comes out of Spanish Sports daily "AS". The fanfare could be a paper selling tactic however the news in itself has been gaining "speaker volume" over the past days. According to the media source Real Madrid has come to an agreement with Colombian International & World Cup sensation James Rodriguez. The player would receive a salary of 7,5M€ /season & Real Madrid now needs to negotiate with Monaco to seal the operation. 

News yesterday mentioned that rival FC Barcelona had entered the picture with a 90M€ bid to "complicate" the plans of Real Madrid soliciting the player for 2015, but it seems that the Monaco forward has only "eyes" for the Madrid Club & for this new season.

Monaco owner Rybolovlev started high in his price around 100M€ + mark but Real Madrid has managed to lower the price to around 80M€ & could further lower it to 70M€ including a player in the operation. Monaco asked for Pepe or Coentrao but both were rejected, however young Brazilian Casemiro likes & is valued at 10M€ which would make the operation 70M€ in cash + Casemiro 10M€ = 80M€. 

Real Madrid is expected to sell in the coming days Argentine International Angel Di Maria to Paris St. Germain for around 60M€, money which will be used for the James Rodriguez operation.

Stay tuned for further developments.

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JAMES RODRIGUEZ | ANGEL DI MARIA OUT FIRST FROM REAL MADRID

It started off as media generated hype,  but slowly the idea of Colombian International & Monaco 22 year old forward JAMES RODRIGUEZ ending up next season at Real Madrid is gaining credibility. The fact that James Rodriguez publicly voiced his dream to play at Real Madrid has opened the doors of the Spanish Football Club as President Florentino Perez always wants the "Best" & tacitly requires that candidates openly voice the "love" to the Club beforehand. 

Today Spanish Sports daily "AS" writes that Monaco has put its price on their player for a possible transfer operation, a cool 80M€! The World Cup performance of James Rodriguez has sky-rocketed his market price from the 45M€ that Monaco paid Porto last season. However, Real Madrid could lower this initial price to around 65-70M€ if the player pressures his exit & Real Madrid includes some of its players into the operation. Monaco is interested in goalkeeper Diego Lopez, Coentrao, Casimiro & Alvaro Morata. 

Before a possible James Rodriguez landing at Real Madrid a midfielder with similar characteristics has to leave. At this moment the candidate looks like being Argentine International ANGEL DI MARIA, its the players choice because Real Madrid Coach Ancelotti wishes the player to stay. The Spanish Football Club has already big offers of around 60-70M€ from Manchester United & Paris St Germain, with other said interest from Manchester City, Monaco & Arsenal.

If Real Madrid sells Di Maria the Club would have the money to go after James Rodriguez & the Colombian a position to work for at Real Madrid. A position that will be competitive as James Rodriguez will have to compete with Isco a rising World Football talent in his own right & destined to be a regular in the Spanish National Team.

This is the current situation with James Rodriguez, Di Maria & Real Madrid. In coming days & weeks things will get clearer, & we will see if the hype becomes a "transfer reality". Stay tuned!

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JAMES RODRIGUEZ & REAL MADRID | LATEST NEWS

With the elimination of Colombia from the World Cup we lose seeing 22 year old James Rodriguez currently leading the goalscoring tally with 6 goals & the "new sensation" of World Soccer. However, the exhibition by the Monaco forward has lit the lights of the mayor European Clubs & speculation is ramped that the Colombian may be headed to a new Club next season.

James Rodriguez himself set his own course with repeated comments that his wish was to end up at Real Madrid. A signal that the Spanish Football Club has received & is delighted with as it is usually a pre-requisite that Real Madrid President Florentino Perez desires from candidates.  

The latest news comes out of  Spanish Sports daily "Marca". The source comments that the players representative Jorge Mendes has already had a meeting with Real Madrid to express that a transfer operation is possible. The price that Mendes transmitted to Real Madrid was 75M€ & that the player earns 5M€/year at Monaco.

Real Madrid transmitted their initial interest & also let know that the Club would pay 50M€ ...no more than 60M€, that their main priority at this moment is a midfielder who is Bayern Munich & German International Toni Kroos. The Spanish Club also said they have no rush to jump into signing players & will take things with calmness. As expected the players representative let know that Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspurs & Napoli are also interested, to which Real Madrid responded that they are the current European Champions.

The inclusion of players in a possible operation with Monaco could be an option to lower the transfer price. Young Real Madrid forward Alvaro Morata is liked by Monaco, although he prefers Juventus FC. Argentine forward Angel Di Maria is also liked but Manchester United & Paris St Germain have higher offers. In any case, Real Madrid signing James Rodriguez will depend on Di Maria or another midfielder leaving the Club beforehand & until then "negotiations" will be on stand-by.

Lastly ,staying with Monaco & possible transfers, the Radamel Falcao option has gone cold. Real Madrid will bet on Karim Benzema as their forward for next season. The Club had Luis Suarez as their Nº1 striker option for next season but changed their minds putting their faith in Benzema & eliminating Suarez as an option after the "bitting incident". This allowed FC Barcelona to enter the picture & the latter is currently close to shutting a transfer deal for the Uruguayan. 

In a nutshell, stay tuned in coming weeks on the transfer front. I am sure their will be great & surprising news. The James Rodriguez - Real Madrid option is open & it is a possibility.

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MANCHESTER UNITED EYES ANGEL DI MARIA

While Argentine International is on duty with his Nation at the World Cup, locally the rumours increase that ANGEL DI MARIA is looking to force his exit for Real Madrid CF. Real Madrid Coach Carlo Ancelotti is not in favour of letting go the midfielder, but the Argentine is "rubbing up the wrong way" the Real Madrid Directives with comments & behaviour. A situation which is not new at all & has been ongoing for the last 18 months.

In a nutshell, Di Maria wants more money, but Real Madrid are not willing to renegotiate his contract. The pulling & easing from Di Maria has feed-up the Club & the latter has put a 50M€ + price tag for bidding & interested Clubs.

The Clubs that are most sounding is Monaco & Juventus FC, but in the last days English Premier League Club Manchester United has entered the picture. According to the English paper "Daily Star" Manchester United is willing to put up the 50M€ to take the Argentine over to "Old Trafford".

The exit of Di Maria opens the door to Colombian International & World Cup sensation James Rodriguez. The money from Di Maria would be channelled to attempt to sign the Monaco player. That´s what Real Madrid may be thinking, what Monaco may be thinking is another story. I have no doubt that Monaco will not be opening the door or making things easy for James Rodriguez to leave. Stay tuned!
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LUIS SUAREZ - RADAMEL FALCAO LATEST NEWS | SPANISH FOOTBALL

The big Spanish Football Clubs are making their moves to shut & securing their main signing priorities for season 2014 - 2015. FC Barcelona has put Liverpool FC striker Luis Suarez as its main priority while Real Madrid CF seems to have focused on Monaco striker Radamel Falcao. Most of the Spanish Sports papers have been running with these stories for the past weeks & both have been gaining in strength along with credibility in the last few days.

The latest with Luis Suarez is that FC Barcelona representatives are in London at this moment negotiating with Liverpool FC. According to English paper "The Guardian" Barça has put up an initial offer of 70MGBP, that is around 89M€. Big figure that for the moment does not include any Barça player, although Liverpool FC may like the idea of Alexis Sanchez & thus lower the price for FC Barcelona.

This last "petition" by Liverpool FC depends if Alexis Sanchez accepts the move. The Chilean International is also desired by Arsenal FC & it seems Atletico de Madrid has also asked about the forward. Insiders indicate that the Chilean wants to stay at FC Barcelona.

Negotiations continue...

At Real Madrid everything indicates that the Spanish Football Club will make a bet on Colombian International & Monaco forward Radamel Falcao. In this particular case there is less "official" news coming out of Real Madrid while all the "talk" seems to be coming out of the players inner circle.

It is speculated that Monaco will facilitate the exit of Falcao & adhere to his wish to get back to Spanish Football, but at a reasonable price for Monaco. Insider comment that Monaco would look at with interest including Real Madrid forward Alvaro Morata in the operation. However, Morata is very close to Italian Club Juventus & the players choice is Italy.

With Falcao there is no mention of transfer conditions or a firm players agreement. As said the "hype" is more a press generated phenomenon than a Club announced open move. Everyone however is confident that the operation will go through & Falcao end up at Real Madrid next season

Lastly, the name of another Colombian James Rodriguez is gaining hype-talk & association with Real Madrid. Stay tuned on this possible front in coming weeks.

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REAL MADRID NEWS | ANGEL DI MARIA WANTS TO LEAVE

The Angel Di Maria musical chairs game is back on at Real Madrid. I am happy, I am sad, I want to stay, I wish to leave, I am unhappy, I am sad... its been like this for years with Di Maria. The Spanish Sports paper "AS" publishes today that the Argentine International midfielder has communicated to Real Madrid that he would like to leave. The reason? He feels the Club does not value him as he would wish. What does this mean? Simply said, Angel Di Maria wants more money. 

There are big Clubs obviously interested, like Juventus FC, Manchester United, Paris St Germain & Monaco. Insiders say that Real Madrid would sell their player for a figure around the 50M€.

The words from Angel Di Maria yesterday saying that his National team-mate Lionel Messi was the Nº1 player of World Football, has been interpreted as a indirect "attack" on his Club team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo in order to force the Clubs doors to open up for an exit.

With the possible transfer of Angel Di Maria, speculation has grown over which player will be the possible substitute. The name being "thrown around" is the current World Cup Colombian sensation 22 year James Rodriguez. Although this is a rumour, it is more a fan & local media generated desire & hype,  & as for now there is nothing official from a Club perspective.

The only real names sounding as possible signings for next year for Real Madrid at this moment are Bayern Munich midfielder Toni  Kroos & Monaco forward Radamel Falcao.

Stay tuned!

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JAMES RODRIGUEZ LINKED TO REAL MADRID? IT IS MORE LIKE FALCAO

James Rodriguez, 22 year old French Club Monaco & Colombian International forward is currently the sensation of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil & of World Soccer. The player has currently 5 goals & if his National Team can keep on advancing & he keeps on scoring James Rodriguez will eclipse Neymar & Messi. 

The comments given to Spanish Radio "Cope" post-match after defeating Uruguay 2-0 has set on fire the World & Spanish Football speculation-rumour treadmill. James Rodriguez said:
"I would love to play in Spain,"..."It would be a dream to play there - it is the best league in the world."
When pressed by Spanish Radio "Cope" journalist..."I like more Real Madrid than Barcelona".

Immediately the World & Spanish Sports press began making hypothetical scenarios about a James Rodriguez & Real Madrid link & possible signing effort by the latter. Plus the fact that the player s representative is Jorge Mendes, the same as for Cristiano Ronaldo, Pepe, Coentrao, Di Maria ...etc., has also added fuel to comments. Although in Football - & with Real Madrid - nothing is impossible those chances are slim, if not non-existent at this moment. 

The current real interest by Real Madrid for their forward line is apparently another player & a team-mate not at the World Cup. There are strong rumours & indications that point directly to Radamel Falcao for next season.

Stay tuned!

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