Manchester United and Inter in talks for Real Madrid outcast

Real Madrid want to sell James Rodriguez this summer to fund a world record move for Monaco striker Kylian Mbappe, reports RMC, via Get French Football.

The reigning European champions are determined to fend off interest from their rivals to win the race to sign 18-year-old Mbappe but need to sell one of their big names first in order to bankroll a move in excess of £115m.

Rodriguez has been heavily linked with a move away from Madrid all season after struggling to make any impression on head coach Zinedine Zidane and the fact the Colombia international was left out of their Champions League final matchday squad has only compounded the fact he has no future at the club. 

Madrid have slapped a €70m (£61m) valuation on the head of Rodriguez but neither United nor Inter are expected to match that given he has barely played under Zidane, while a deal in the region of €55m (£48m) is reportedly more likely.

Rodriguez only started 13 matches in La Liga last season and was forced to make a further nine appearances from the bench. Nevertheless, he still weighed in with eight goals and six assists in that time.

In the last three La Liga campaigns on Lionel Messi (19) and Cristiano Ronaldo (13) have scored more goals from outside the box than Rodriguez (11).

For more stats on James Rodriguez, click here to visit his WhoScored player page