James Rodriguez made his professional debut for Colombian outfit Envigado FC at the age of 14 and he has gone on to become one of the biggest stars in world football. Real Madrid signed the Colombian superstar for a stunning fee of €80 million and made him a Galactico but Omar Alberto Suárez, technical director at Envigado which was the first club of James Rodriguez claims that the Colombian always dreamed of playing at Real Madrid’s huge rivals Barcelona.
Suarez speaking to AS, said:
"I called him and said there were some clubs interested in the Arab Emirates or Argentina and he said no, coach, I want to play for Barcelona. Not Real Madrid, Barcelona".
James still remains hugely popular at his childhood club and Ramiro Ruiz, president of Envigado Football Club where James made his professional debut spoke about what it means to have James playing at Real:
"It's a real source of pride for us to have James playing at the best club in the world, we feel blessed".
James Rodriguez has not had a very good season at Real Madrid and he will be hoping to play at his best again next season.
Real Madrid reluctant to sell James Rodriguez
James has not had the best of seasons at Real Madrid but the club have no intentions of selling him. Real Madrid are clear about their stance on James Rodriguez. He is non-transferable, or simply put, not for sale. The club will not even be entertaining any offers for him as they consider the Colombian one of the key players for the future.
He had a stunning debut season at the Bernabeu individually as he recorded 17 goals and also set up 18 others for his teammates. But after Ancelotti’s departure, James has found it tough to break into the first team under Benitez and now Zinedine Zidane as well.
Current coach Zidane also believes in the potential of Rodriguez and wants him to stay put so that he can start afresh next season and perform for the team at the level that is expected of him. Asked recently about the lack of playing time James is receiving Zidane said, “I don't see any problems with James — he is an important player.”
