A tale of two reports about James Rodriguez

There are two interesting stories making the rounds about Bayern Munich and Colombia playmaker James Rodriguez.

At his introductory press conference Monday that officially kicked off his fourth stint with the club, Bayern Munich manager Jupp Heynckes said Rodriguez has had a tough time settling with the club because Rodriguez does not speak German, ESPN FC’s Mark Lovell reported.

James signed a two-year loan deal this summer with the Bavarians securing the option to make the deal permanent from Real Madrid in 2019.

Heynckes said: "James Rodriguez doesn't speak German. German football is very different to football in South America. It is a very difficult situation for a young player. However, he should know that he can count on my support and my help because I like technically gifted players. And I believe he has a lot of talent.

"I've seen his games for Real Madrid but I don't know him personally. When they come back [from the international break], I'm going to talk with them a lot and give them some advice."

The 72-year-old Heynckes can provide that advice to James in Spanish. Heynckes speaks fluent Spanish having coached Tenerife, Athletic Bilbao and Real Madrid, which he led to the Champions League title during the 1997-98 season.

Cut to a report from Barcelona-based Sport that said Heynckes reportedly isn’t a huge fan of James:

“New Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes, who has also coached Real Madrid, is not counting on James for the current campaign.

“Heynckes discarded the Colombian from his plans. That means he doesn't have a big role to play between now and June 30, which is when Bayern will decide whether they stick with Jupp or name a new coach, the latter being the most likely. The new boss will then decide if he wants James to continue.”

Part of the reason Rodriguez came to Bayern over the summer on loan was due to the affection of former manager Carlo Ancelotti, who managed James at Real Madrid, which bought the Colombian from AS Monaco in 2014 after his stellar World Cup performance that summer.

Ancelotti was enamored with Rodriguez, and after Ancelotti departed Madrid, it didn’t take long for it to become clear that new boss Zinedine Zidane wasn’t a fan of the Colombian.

It remains unclear what Bayern will do with Rodriguez since Heynckes is likely only the boss till the end of this season. Hoffenheim boss Julian Nagelsmann or Thomas Tuchel might be answering questions about James’ future come July 1, 2018.

Two stories. Two very different schools of thought.