Report: Competition for field time has James Rodriguez considering a return to Real Madrid

Per a report by kicker, “insiders” are speculating that James Rodriguez is becoming unhappy with his roster spot at Bayern Munich, due to his playing time. The report also goes on to say that the Colombian international would consider a move back to Real Madrid when his loan ends.

Bayern had “gotten a lot of money in the cash” and the “financial means to make a big transfer,” enthused club boss Karl-Heinz Rummenigge on Wednesday. 42 million euros of which are already longer reserved for James (27), whose loan ends in 2019 and could pass on a purchase option in a three-year contract in Munich. But does the Colombian actually play 2019/20 at Bayern?

The piece went on to cover that James is worried about seeing the field consistently in Bayern Munich’s super-competitive midfield.

James sees himself as the undisputed regular force at Bayern, but has to cope with fierce competition.

With that, “insiders” are citing that the Colombian may seek a return to Real Madrid.

In this regard, there are doubts - even in the club. Insiders report that the player, in spite of his public commitment to the record champions in the summer, is thinking about a return to Real Madrid.

Finally, the numbers bandied about for a potential move were covered by kicker’s transfer market section:

Bayern may sign James (27) next year for €42M from Real Madrid. Should Real Madrid want to have him back, they would have the market value according to the €42M and probably at least the loan paid by Bayern €13M.

BFW Analysis

The Bayern midfield is indeed overloaded with talent and remains an issue for the club even with the departures of Arturo Vidal and Sebastian Rudy. The single biggest obstacle facing Niko Kovač is not the actual coaching, but the management of personnel and how to keep all of the talent at his disposal happy.

James is a world class player, but even that status is no guarantee of consistent playing time in Bavaria. Is it conceivable that James is considering a return to Real Madrid? Sure. There have been enough whispers over the summer that indicate that James is at least thinking that Los Blancos have a better set up for his future, but James has also publicly stated that he is committed to Bayern, which at least shows he also may see how Bavaria is a good place to ply his trade.

Bayern, for its part, has big plans for James in terms of global marketing and still seems likely to want to retain the Colombian star even with an overflow of talent centrally. Publicly, James is savvy enough to know the right things to say, but what goes on behind the scenes is where this particular situation gets a bit murky. If kicker’s “insiders” are to be believed, James may actually be re-thinking where he wants to play after his loan ends in June 2019. How this plays out in the coming weeks will be interesting, but for now, this should be treated as nothing more than a careless whisper.