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James Rodriguez 'Calm,' Focused on Colombia Amid Doubt over Bayern Munich Future
June 4, 2019
James Rodriguez said he is concentrating his efforts on Colombia's Copa America campaign despite uncertainty over where he'll be playing next season.
The playmaker's two-year loan spell with Bayern Munich has come to an end and he'll return to Real Madrid this summer, but he said he won't be thinking about his next move just yet.
"I'm in selection mode now," he said, via Marca Claro (h/t Goal's Dejan Kalinic). "I'm calm, and I just want to think about the Colombia team and later we'll see."
Real extended Rodriguez's contract prior to joining Bayern, so he has two years remaining at the Santiago Bernabeu.
However, Zinedine Zidane's return to the dugout casts his future in doubt at Real, as the Frenchman appeared to have little trust in James previously.
During Zidane's first season in charge, James played just seven minutes of football in the UEFA Champions League that season from the quarter-final stage onward and was not even in the squad for the final.
Per the Mirror (h/t Goal's Ronan Murphy), he may not go back to Bayern, either, but there is interest in him from the Premier League:
The 27-year-old made 65 appearances in his two seasons in Germany, scoring 15 goals and assisting 20.
He bagged a hat-trick against Mainz in this campaign:
However, he also missed 25 matches over the course of the two years due various injuries.
Rodriguez sat out several games at the end of this season with a calf injury, and football commentator Juan G. Arango observed his struggles with fitness:
He could still make a fine addition to many sides at the right price, as he's productive in the final third and his delivery into the box is excellent.
Concerns over his fitness are valid, though, and should be factored into the offers his interested are prepared to make.