Real Madrid: Is James Rodriguez guaranteed to leave?

Real Madrid attacking midfielder James Rodriguez has only one year left on his contract, and he’s been frequently mentioned as a player who will likely be sold this summer.

The upcoming 2020 summer transfer market’s start date is entirely up in the air, and future prices for star players are even more difficult to predict. But Real Madrid will likely be active on the market in their pursuit for a new primary goal-scoring option, with everyone from Sadio Mane to Erling Haaland to Kylian Mbappe being on the table.

However, in order to accommodate new signings, Los Blancos will have to let a few stars go. Mariano Diaz is likely to leave after barely receiving playing time in 2019-2020, Luka Jovic‘s future isn’t sealed, and Gareth Bale is an obvious pick to transfer elsewhere due to his high wages.

James Rodriguez is another expensive player with name recognition who could leave. But unlike Bale, James was productive when healthy last season, which might make it harder for the team to say goodbye.

Carlos Forjanes of AS reports that James is not in Zinedine Zidane‘s future plans and so with one year left on his contract, Real Madrid are essentially obligated to sell the player.

If Real were to keep James for the 2020-2021 season, he could negotiate a deal with other teams in the winter transfer market and leave after the season on a free transfer. Per Forjanes, since Los Merengues paid 80 million euros for him more than five years ago, they don’t want to lose him for free in 2021.

Although James dealt with injuries last season, he was quite good when healthy. Toni Kroos‘ play as the attacking midfielder, Luka Modric‘s bounce-back season, and Isco’s return to form in the second half of the season made it more difficult for James to reclaim his place in the lineup. But for the first couple of months of the 2019-2020 campaign, James was active defensively and his usual great self at setting up teammates with big-chance opportunities.

At the age of 28, James is in the prime of his career, and when he’s healthy, he still has a lot to offer to big clubs around Europe. The Colombian has been linked with a move to Arsenal, and he could be a great system fit for the Gunners, especially with Real Madrid loanee Dani Ceballos set to return to La Liga.

It seems like Real will look to get something in exchange for James, who wouldn’t be a key starter next season. Plus, with Martin Odegaard potentially returning, Takefusa Kubo impressing on loan, Oscar Rodriguez scoring bangers at Leganes, Reinier Jesus in Castilla, and Igor Gomes on Florentino Perez’s radar, Los Merengues are looking to the future at the No. 10 position. James, as much as Madridistas love him, seems to be on the way out this summer.