James Rodriguez to Liverpool Transfer Rumours Embiggen

Late last week, tabloids in England began to repeat supposed whispers from Spain about Liverpool being interested in rescuing James Rodriguez from Real Madrid. The 25-year-old, who once seemed set to become one of the greats, has stagnated since moving to the Bernabeu.

This season, he’s only played 14 league games and largely found himself consigned to a bench role. Still, it’s clear that the talent is there. Just not the place for him to start at Real. That has meant a string of rumours linking him with moves away, including most recently to Liverpool.

Now, Spanish sports magazine Don Balon claim Liverpool are set to beat Manchester United to his signing by offering Madrid €50M (£43M) guaranteed up front along with escalators that could potentially see the fee paid for Rodriguez rise to €60 (£52M) when everything’s said and done.

Further, they believe that such an offer would likely meet Real’s valuation of the player, and that president Florentino Perez has given his sale the green light should said valuation be met. All of this, of course, is dependant on Liverpool securing Champions League football.

It is also, to put it mildly, highly speculative. And it’s week two of the international break, when football outlets around the globe are struggling to find things to talk about. So it should all be taken with a very, very large grain of salt.

It is also probably inevitable that the next step in all of this are rumours suggesting Liverpool are moving for Rodriguez as a replacement for Philippe Coutinho, a swap rather than an strengthening, and no matter that the idea of Rodriguez moving to Anfield in the first place is itself almost wholly speculative.

The good news is that the international break is almost over. And in the meantime, before the tabloids get to the Coutinho angle, just try to enjoy being linked to James Rodriguez, even if it has about a 1% chance of ever coming to pass.