“James would have preferred to go to Atleti; the friendly could influence …”

“Real Madrid did not let me go to the club I wanted “, James Rodríguez confessed in the interview he gave to Gol Caracol last Tuesday. The Colombian returned last summer to the white club after two years on loan at Bayern and did so with the idea of ​​packing. Not because he did not want to succeed in Chamartín, but because he was aware that he did not enter into Zidane's plans. So he began to value the proposals that came to him. On the table he had several offers. The most concrete were those of Naples and Atlético de Madrid. And between both, the one from Cúcuta prioritized that of the red and white entity. His intention not to leave the capital of Spain for family reasons weighed. So he has confessed Juan Carlos Restrepo, stepfather of the Real Madrid player. “In my opinion, as James' adoptive father, I think the point was that for someone like him to move, you need to agree on many points and in many ways. I think that for his daughter, staying in Spain was the best possibility, especially if he could stay in Madrid, “he said on Radio Marte, statements collected by the Colombian press.

James did not count for Zidane, who even left him out of tactical work at the start of the preseason, as the player confessed. He got to have a foot and a half at Atlético de Madrid. But the very hard defeat against the rojiblancos in preseason (3-7) closed the door to him of exit. “James would have preferred to go to Atlético in case of a transfer. This does not mean that there were no attempts and appreciations from other clubs as well. He feels comfortable in Spain, on a personal level, and was not convinced to change countries. It may be that the friendly summer game played a role. But in the end, Real, who wants to dominate in Spain and the world, still considers the player to be important to his team and decided not to sell him. This was the official position ”, declared Restrepo.

After a promising start to the season at Real Madrid, where it was thought that the Colombian was going to be a 'signing' for Zidane, between injuries and technical decisions James was deflated until he was a residual element for the French coach (he played 78 minutes against Real after not having participated in the League since October 19 against Mallorca). In total, it only adds 728 '(the 20th player in minutes of the squad). In this scenario, the name of the coffeemaker is on the exit ramp in the next transfer market. His contract ends in 2021 and Madrid is obliged to sell him or he would see how it goes for free. On how he sees the future of James, Restrepo did not rule out the possibility of seeing him in the light blue shirt of Naples, although the Premier does not take his eyes off his situation. “I don't think James has closed the negotiations with Naples. Whatever the club of the future, we hope the pieces of the puzzle will come together like they did not last year. If it will be an important club like Naples, welcome“he settled.