Real Madrid ace close to shock move to rivals Atletico

Atletico Madrid are closing in on a surprise move for Real Madrid midfielder James Rodriguez, claims Marca.

Madrid are desperately trying to offload Rodriguez in a bid to free up funds for a blockbuster move for Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba.

Rodriguez spent the last two years on loan at Bayern Munich but the Bundesliga outfit opted against making his move permanent. 

The Colombia international was expected to join Napoli this summer to reunite with former Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti.

However, Napoli are struggling to agree terms with Madrid and now it has emerged Rodriguez favours a move to their city rivals, Atletico.

Diego Simeone’s side are in the middle of a squad transformation and Rodriguez would help offset Antoine Griezmann’s move to Barcelona.

Rodriguez wants to remain in Madrid and now Atletico must convince their neighbourhood rivals to do business with them for the second time this summer.

Atletico signed Marcos Llorente from Madrid earlier in the summer but a deal for Rodriguez is more complex due to the calibre of player.

Despite failing to produce his best form at Bayern, Rodriguez was still one of the most creative players in the Bundesliga the past two years.

In fact, Rodriguez required the fewest minutes per key pass (one every 24.1 minutes of playing time) of players that started at least 10 Bundesliga matches in that period.