James Rodriguez is moving from AS Monaco to Real Madrid. The Merengues have finalized their purchase of the Colombian on a six-year contract for a reported €81 million ($109 million USD), making him far and away the most expensive transfer of the summer.
Real Madrid buy James Rodriguez from Monaco for $109 million
Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and now, James Rodriguez.
Mark Kolbe
Interest in James skyrocketed at the World Cup, where he was one of the best players at the tournament and won the Golden Boot. Already a sough-after player, the Colombian was being linked to all of the biggest clubs in the world by the midway point of the World Cup, but it became pretty clear early on that Real Madrid were the team chasing after him the hardest.
Shine over substance?
James was sold to Monaco just last summer for €45 million ($60.6 million USD) and proceeded to score 10 goals, to go along with 12 assists. It was the first big money move for the Colombian, who was tabbed as a prodigy at a young age and lived up to the hype at every step, from Envigado, to Banfield, to Porto, and then Monaco. Now, at age 23, he moves to arguably the biggest club in the world and has racked up €126 million ($169.7 million USD) in transfer fees in the last two summers alone.
James isn't a perfect fit at Real Madrid, who already have Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, but Carlo Ancelotti has shown before that he is adept and moving pieces around and making them work. James is unlikely to play as far up the pitch as he is accustomed to -- unless Ronaldo or Bale is moved centrally to play as a false nine -- but between his talent, the talent around him and Ancelotti, odds are it will be sorted out just fine.
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