A BFW Analysis: James to push back Real Madrid return to 2019 per report

Per a Marca report, James Rodriguez will try to work with Bayern Munich for a sale to ensure he can return to Real Madrid for the 2019-2020 season after his loan assignment ends.

The desire to succeed at Real Madrid is something that is still very important to James Rodriguez, but he isn’t planning to leave Bayern Munich this summer. The Colombian believes it would not be ethically correct to leave the German club at this point, especially after all the love the club and their fans showed him during the previous campaign. In addition, the Bavarian club feel that they were the ones who put trust James’s talent over the past year, and that it is not right for Real Madrid to want him back after they let him leave through the back door.

Marca then explained the current status of where things are for both James and Bayern as it pertains to the status of the relationship.

The message released from the club recently was blunt and to the point, the view being that James will remain on loan at Bayern until 2019, after which the purchase option in his contract will be triggered. They are alluding to the loan agreement that is currently in effect and Real Madrid know would be very difficult to break before next year, when the purchase option can be exercised.

The lack of a definitive statement by James on his future (as we covered here) was bound to create more speculation, which it did and Marca was happy to run with it!

Speculation about James’ possible return to the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu was raised when Julen Lopetegui told the player he would love to have him on the team. For a time, this message had the Colombian doubting his future, but James himself also perceives that leaving Bayern at this point would be a bad move. He has regained the confidence he lost in Madrid in his last two years and feels he owes the team. “So far I am still at Bayern,” he said. “I am happy and they have shown their affection for the people and the team.”

This reasoning holds a lot of weight for James, and it has now allowed him to envision another season playing in the Bundesliga. Nevertheless, in 2019 James could have the power to return to Los Blancos. There is no such clause in his loan contract, but his representatives believe that he would have the power to intervene in the Bavarians’ plan to trigger the purchase option if he wishes to return to Spain.

This, however, is where Marca is underestimating Bayern’s business prowess.

Bayern may, in that scenario, decide not to make an outlay of 42 million euros for a player who prefers to be on another team. James has not hidden his Madridista past during his time in Germany and, in fact, he has kept his house in the Spanish capital and still has contact with several players on the team. In all the interviews he has given since leaving Real Madrid, he has made it clear he did not want to leave. “It was sad and hard to leave,” he said. “Real Madrid was always my dream. “I always try to watch their matches at my house when I can.” His dream since childhood was always to play in the famous white jersey, and that is the card the club will be hoping to play in 2019.

Sure, it is not hard to fathom that James wants to go back to to Real Madrid. I don’t think that really can be debated at this stage. But, if Marca or Los Blancos think that Bayern is going to let the Colombian waltz back to Madrid for free? That is not likely; especially when there could be

With a purchase clause rumored to be €42M, Die Roten will absolutely seek to trigger that proviso and then negotiate a sale with an interested party should James decide he wants to move on.

So, we’ve been down this road a bit, right? To summarize, this is what we really know:

• James’ loan ends in 2019 and Bayern holds a purchase clause of €42M.
• Barring something crazy happening now or in the winter transfer window, James will be at Bayern for the entirety 2018-2019 season.
• James is not too keen on learning German and has struggled with it.
• James has been really non-committal about playing in Munich past this upcoming season.
• James speaks Spanish.
• James likes Spain (despite having to pay a huge fine for tax issues); specifically James likes Madrid.
• James did not like Zinedine Zidane; now Zidane is gone.

Conclusion: James will be here for 2018-2019, but don’t start saving to invest in a 2019-2020 James jersey just yet. This would could drag on a bit.