Real Madrid have decided James Rodriguez will not leave the club this summer after all, claims Spanish television outlet El Chiringuito.
Rodriguez has been heavily linked with a move to Napoli and Atletico Madrid after returning from a two-year loan stint at Bayern Munich.
The Spanish giants had hoped to cash in on Rodriguez this summer in order to help fund a blockbuster move for Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba.
However, Zinedine Zidane’s side have now opted against selling Rodriguez in the wake of Marco Asensio’s serious knee injury.
The Spain international was stretchered off during Madrid’s pre-season friendly against Arsenal in midweek and is now expected to miss most of next season.
It was suggested Madrid would cancel Dani Ceballos proposed loan move to Arsenal as a result but they have now elected to take Rodriguez off the market.
It comes as a crushing blow to Napoli, who are also set to miss out on Lille star Nicolas Pepe to Arsenal, while Atletico may now firm up their interest in Tottenham’s Christian Eriksen.
Even though Rodriguez’s two years in Germany were considered underwhelming, the 28-year-old was still at his creative best for Bayern.
In fact, Rodriguez required the fewest minutes per key pass (one every 24.1 minutes of playing time) of players that started at least 10 Bundesliga matches since August 2017.
