Real Madrid Transfer News: Neymar Rumours Answered, Latest on James Rodriguez

Barcelona manager Luis Enrique has ruled out the possibility of star forward Neymar making a surprise transfer to Real Madrid.

Joaquim Piera of Sport wrote earlier this month that Los Blancos president Florentino Perez is hoping for "full-blown treason" from the Brazilian in a manner similar to Luis Figo, who followed the path from the Camp Nou to the Santiago Bernabeu in 2000.

However, when asked about the prospect, Enrique dismissed the reports as mere speculation. “Those are just parts of the typical football rumour mill,” said the Barcelona boss, per FOX Sports.

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Neymar has grown as a player this year, helping the Blaugrana to five separate major honours. Here are some of the forward’s highlights from a 2015 to remember:

It’s this current season that has really seen the 23-year-old step up, though. With Lionel Messi suffering with an injury problem earlier on in the campaign, Neymar was tasked with assuming the role of this team’s talisman.

As noted here by OptaJose, not unlike Messi, Neymar is both a scorer and creator of goals for Barcelona:

Madrid may be keen on bringing Neymar in and may be buoyed by the fact he’s yet to sign a new deal with the Blaugrana.

With a release clause reported to be €190 million (£140 million), Real are a club with the financial clout to potentially trigger it, and given the Brazilian’s age, quality and worldwide status, it’d be a wise investment.

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However, Spanish football expert Rafael Hernandez is unsure whether or not Neymar would be willing to make the switch:

Aside from footballing and financial factors, the player could also surely do without the furore that would accompany such a transfer.

Figo was castigated for the move, and given just how adored he is in Catalonia currently, it’d be a huge surprise if Neymar was to betray Barcelona in the worst way possible.

United In Talks with James Rodriguez 

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According to Fichajes.com (h/t the Daily Telegraph), Manchester United have opened negotiations with Real Madrid over a possible £59 million transfer of Colombian star James Rodriguez.

The playmaker has failed to feature regularly under new manager Rafael Benitez despite enjoying an excellent first season at the club. 

Rodriguez would be a big loss to Real Madrid if he was to leave, though. As we can see here courtesy of OptaJose, the former Monaco man possesses a penchant for scoring spectacular goals:

While the Colombian may not have played quite as often as last term, he has been hit with some injury problems too, which have hampered any potential return to his best form.

Benitez, once Rodriguez is back at his best, would surely be willing to accommodate his wonderful attacking talents as well. Here’s what Rodriguez is capable of bringing to the team:

Real do have a lot of attacking-midfield options and if they were to sell their No. 10, then players like Mateo Kovacic, Isco and Gareth Bale have the quality to fill the void. But selling such a talented and popular player would be a big gamble on the part of the Madrid hierarchy, especially midseason.

Rodriguez will be hoping the winter break will allow him some time to recuperate and get back to full fitness again. Should he reach the levels he did last term, there’ll be no possible way Benitez can keep him out of the side.