James Rodriguez to Bayern Munich on two-year loan deal
The Colombian will play for the German side for the next two years on loan with Bayern paying his wages reportedly.
James Rodriguez to Bayern Munich is official. The Colombian will play for the German champions under Carlo Ancelotti for the next two years on loan from Real Madrid with Dani Ceballos' recent signing of a contract with the club cementing James' future.
Real Madrid wanted €75 million for the player while Bayern were holding firm at €60 million. A loan deal, which was mentioned as a possibility with Bayern paying his wages and a fee to the reigning LaLiga and Champions League winners, has come to pass. Real Madrid will reportedly recieve €5 million a year for two years and have the option to buy the player for €35 million after the two year spell.
“We’re delighted we’ve been able to complete this transfer. Signing James Rodríguez was our coach Carlo Ancelotti’s biggest wish, following their successful spell working together in Madrid,” commented FC Bayern München AG chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.
“James is a very versatile player. He’s a goalscorer himself, he sets up a lot of goals and on top of that he’s great from set-pieces. There’s no question that this transfer further increases the quality in our team.”
Talks over Bayern and James went into overdrive
Talks over a potential move had moved into sixth gear on Monday night as Bayern's directors and Jorge Mendes, the player's agent, negotiated into the early hours and reconvened on Tuesday morning to hammer home the finer details.
James had asked Mendes to speed up the deal as he was not keen to travel to the USA with Real Madrid if he was not going to be playing at the Santiago Bernabeu next season. As it turns out, he won't be, and will head to Bayern despite undergoing all of Real Madrid's physical screening and medical tests on Monday ahead of the new season.
It brings to an end three years at the club for the Colombian where he played in 111 games, scored 6 goals and had a helping hand in 41 more and he also won two Champions League and a LaLiga title.