James: "There was never an issue with Zidane"
Real Madrid's on-loan Colombian player spoke about his future after a hat-trick against Mainz.
The future of James Rodríguez remains up in the air. Having scored a hat-trick against Mainz in Bayern Munich's 6-0 win the Colombian was asked about a possible return to Real Madrid at the end of the season. "Let's see what happens. There's still a long way to go, a lot of games" said the attacking midfielder. James was asked about the impact Zidane's return to the coaching job at Real Madrid might have, and he was clear in his response: "There was never an issue with Zidane. I don't think it'll affect my future at all".
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Bayern to decide on James' future
Bayern Munich will decide in mid-June whether to take up a purchase option on the player and pay Real Madrid 42 million euros to take him on permanently. "We'll need to decide if we want to sign him or not. At the end of the day the coach has to tell us what he wants", said Bayern president Uli Hoeness. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, chairman of the club's board, said "I strongly believe we'll see him playing here next season. We're all happy with him".
Kovac happy with James
James stats with Bayern are very good. In 23 games he's scored seven goals and set up six. He's also managed to successfully change his role under Niko Kovac, who didn't include him in his plans at the start of the season. James has now played in every Bayern game in 2019, and is happier than ever. "I'm delighted with the three goals he scored and the ovation he received" said the Croatian coach. "James gives us a lot" he concluded.