Report: “Wheels in motion” for James Rodriguez to make Real Madrid return

In the latest chapter of the ongoing (and seemingly neverending) James Rodriguez saga, AS provided another tidbit from the Colombian star about a potential meeting next month where the player, his representatives, and Real Madrid will all meet to try and work out a plan to ensure his safe return to Spain.

According to AS sources, the Colombian would indeed love to return to Madrid, and for this reason he has put the wheels in motion. There is a meeting planned between representative of Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and the player to see what can be done to make it happen. This meeting is scheduled for next month following the return leg between the Bundesliga and Premier League giants on March 13. The date will be confirmed based on the outcome of the tie: if Bayern is eliminated it would take place at the end of the month, if they progress, it will be delayed until April.

AS is also reporting that the purpose of the meeting is clear: Find a way to get Bayern to help pave the road for James to make his La Liga return. How much of a financial incentive Bayern will need to make that happen is up for debate. Could the Bavarians just return James for free or will they exercise their right to buy and force Los Blancos to pay a premium for the midfielder? Only Bayern can determine how it wants to proceed.

This meeting is the key to James’ future and it is Bayern who will have the final say. Early in the season, some strong performances from the Colombian had senior club officials looking positively about keeping the midfielder in Munich. This would involve paying the remaining 42 million euros of the operation in which 13 million was already handed over for his two season loan.

Earlier in the week, we covered James’ quotes regarding his desire to return to Madrid, which do not seem to leave much doubt as to where he would like to spend his future.

In Madrid, I have everything. I have a house and people who love me. We will have to see what happens, but at the moment I have a contract with Bayern Munich. I just want to finish the season and we’ll see what happens.

Obviously one of the sticking points for James has been his lack of consistent playing time this season under Niko Kovac, but the Colombian also feels that he is more mature now and is ready to handle the limelight associated with playing for Real Madrid.

But since that early boost (of playing time early in the season), the situation has changed. James has been used as a substitute more than as a starter, but this doesn’t rule out the possibility that Bayern will still take their purchase option and then sell the player to another European side. From James’ perspective, however, he feels that in his final two campaigns for Los Blancos, under Zinedine Zidane, he was not given the necessary opportunities to shine as he had done previously. And now, after two seasons in Germany, he feels a more mature and capable player, ready to shine again at the Santiago Bernabéu.

The whispers of James wanting out of Bavaria have been going on almost since his arrival in Munich. In that time, James has also drawn the interest of Arsenal and Juventus among other teams, but his heart seems to be in Spain. Maybe this “not so secret” meeting next month will help find a way to give both the player and Bayern Munich a solution to finally put an end to this drama.