Rodriguez’s Real stint at an end?
MADRID: Manchester United target James Rodriguez was left off the Real Madrid substitutes’ bench for their Champions League final against Juventus, in a move that is likely to accelerate his exit from the Santiago Bernabeu.
The 25-year-old Colombian international has already been made available to Chelsea as Madrid look to finance their summer spending by selling the player they signed for £60 million (RM331 million) after the last World Cup.
United want a bigname signing this summer and after cooling their interest in Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann, Jose Mourinho is set to step up his interest in Rodriguez.
Madrid, who became the first team to retain the trophy in the Champions League era with a 41 victory over Juventus, opted to line up with the side which finished the domestic season strongly.
Gareth Bale was made to settle for a place on the substitutes' bench despite the romantic clamour for him to be included from the start on his return to Cardiff. He made it off the bench in the second half, though.
Bale’s position on the bench, however, was understandable given the form of midfielder Isco and the former Tottenham forward's lack of match fitness.
While Bale had not played since hobbling off in Real’s 3-2 defeat by Barcelona in El Clasico on April 23, James has wanted to prove a point to Zidane in the cameos he has been afforded during the Frenchman's rotation in the final few weeks of the campaign.
The former Monaco forward scored six goals in his last nine games, but the talented 25-yearold has been overlooked for the Cardiff showpiece altogether.
The star of the 2014 World Cup has been omitted from the 18-man squad by Zidane, signalling the strength in depth at the club’s disposal.
With Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo and Isco starting in front of a three-man midfield consisting of Toni Kroos, Luka Modric and Casemiro, Rodriguez was only ever likely to feature from the bench.
But the Colombian had to watch on from the stands, after Zidane selected Bale, Alvaro Morata and Marco Asensio as his attacking options from the sidelines.
BT Sport pundit Steven Gerrard
James would walk into 99 per cent of Premier League teams. It’s a team full of Galacticos and there's one who can’t even get into the 18. It just shows how strong they are. STEVEN GERRARD BT Sports pundit
said: “This is the reason why Real Madrid are a level above the Premier League teams at the moment.
“James would walk into 99 per cent of Premier League teams. It’s a team full of Galacticos and there's one who can’t even get into the 18. It just shows how strong they are.”
Fellow BT Sport analyst Rio Ferdinand added: “It shows you how strong Zidane is as well.
“That’s a player with a big personalty, a big reputation. This time, in this big game, the showpiece of the season... he’s not even getting on the bench.” Daily Mail