Real Madrid: James Rodriguez may not wait for Atletico Madrid

Real Madrid may not have to sell James Rodriguez to one of their biggest rivals.

Center attacking midfielder James Rodriguez wasn’t in the Real Madrid squad for Sunday’s win over Athletic Bilbao, and Zinedine Zidane later revealed that the player told him to keep him out of the team.

James is poised to find a new club in the summer 2020 transfer window, as Real are obligated to sell him with one year left on his contract. Otherwise, he would leave for free in the winter. Real will have to accept a discounted offer for James due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but 20-30 million euros is still a hefty sum, especially now.

There have been rumblings that the Colombian attacking midfielder is close to joining rivals Atletico Madrid and has them on their radar, but a move to the Wanda Metropolitano seems less likely in light of recent reporting.

Cadena SER reports, via Infinite Madrid, that while James wants to sign with Atleti, he’s not sure it’s possible. He wants to sign somewhere sooner rather than later, and if he were to join Atleti, he would have to wait.

Further, they also report, via @Ultra_Suristic, that he has told his agent to find him a new landing spot soon.

That means the Premier League could be in the cards for James. Those clubs have the money to make a move. Wolves, Everton, Arsenal, and Manchester United are all possible destinations, though the larger-sized clubs with more money have less of a need for James.

A move to Atletico Madrid may still be possible, but it now looks like it’s not probable, whereas they did once seem like the favorites to land him. It would be a “revenge” scenario for him to join the derby rivals, but it, in many ways, makes far more sense for him to join a team that can use him creatively.

He has shown a willingness to work hard in defense while fighting for his place at Real, but playing for Carlo Ancelotti at Everton, for example, would suit him a lot better than Diego Simeone at Atleti.