After Bayern Munich announced the signature of James Rodriguez from Real Madrid, it really got me thinking of just how mad this transfer window is. Aside from the ridiculous amounts of money being spent on bang-average players, and the fact that literally every club is breaking their record transfer fee – some on a daily basis – there are further reasons as to why this summer is unique, especially with this latest transfer going through.
Firstly, as we all know, James was strongly linked with a move to England with either Chelsea or Manchester United, and here was me hoping Liverpool were in the running as well. No chance. The Colombian has gone to German champions Bayern Munich, but more importantly, on a TWO-YEAR-LOAN-DEAL. Really?! It just seems like such a strange move to be honest, what with Bayern having a ridiculously good squad already, and of course the nature of the deal.
It’s also another move that massively annoys me. The 2014 World Cup top goal scorer (yep!) made just 22 appearances for Madrid last season, but something tells me that he may not play as many games for the German champions. I mean, look at their squad, and more importantly look at their midfield. His quality is evident, but then again Bayern have countless world-class in their ranks, and are continuously adding to their star-studded line up.
It’s obviously a love connection between James and Carlo Ancelotti, who signed the Colombian in 2014…for £71m! And since then he’s pretty much sat on the Galactico’s bench, but to be fair that was under his new gaffer Zinedine Zidane, who even left him out of the 18-man squad that beat Juventus in the Champions League final last season. Madness. He had a genuine chance to make a difference at a Manchester United or a Liverpool, a chance to be a legend, but instead has gone to a club that are on course to win six successive titles…
It’s certainly not the first bit of sneaky business Madrid have carried out this summer, having also shipped out Fabio Coentrao to Sporting Lisbon on a one-year loan, before announcing the £22.8m arrival of Theo Hernandez from none other than Atletico Madrid on an incredible six-year deal. They are of course equally annoying and equally strange moves, as current left-back Marcelo will continue his amazing form for countless years to come, so no spot for Hernandez, while if and when Coentrao comes good again then Madrid will no doubt bring him back to sit on the Bernabeu bench just in case. It has a bit of a Chelsea feel about it all to be honest, keeping a ridiculous amount of top-class players on their books should they ever feel the need to call on them. Oh, and they’ve also managed to finally get rid of Pepe, just in case this wasn’t a good enough window for Real already…
But yeah, will James ever return to the Bernabeu, and more importantly, will he succeed at Bayern? What was wrong with a wee four-year move to Anfield, mate? It does open up a move for Renato Sanches to Liverpool though, so here’s hoping…