Real Madrid reach £70m James Rodriguez agreement

The 23-year-old will finalise personal
terms on Monday before being
officially announced as the
Champions League winners’ second
signing of the summer transfer
window
Real Madrid have reached an
agreement with Monaco for the
transfer of James Rodriguez.
In a deal that should see the
Colombia international become the
third most expensive footballer in the
history of the game, Madrid will meet
the French club’s £70 million
valuation, including performance-
related variables.
With an agreement reached between
the two clubs over the weekend,
discussions have been scheduled for
Monday to iron out the details of
James’s personal terms as Madrid
aim to make the midfielder their
second signing of the summer
following the arrival of Toni Kroos
from Bayern Munich.
An outline understanding on the 23-
year-old’s salary has been in place
since Madrid president Florentino
Perez decided to target the player as
this summer’s principle Galactico
signing.
James – who pushed Monaco to allow
him to leave the Ligue 1 club just a
year after a big-money move from
Porto – will join Gareth Bale and
Cristiano Ronaldo in Madrid’s star-
studded attack.
The arrival of the 23-year-old could
spell the end for Isco at the Santiago
Bernabeu, with Goal exclusively
revealing that Liverpool are
monitoring the playmaker’s situation
with a view to a summer bid.
In addition to the acquisition of
World Cup Golden Boot winner
James, Madrid have been working on
a deal to bring a second Colombia
star, Radamel Falcao, from Monaco
and reached a breakthrough in talks
at the beginning of July.
Falcao’s return to Spanish football
after a season in Ligue 1 is
dependent on Madrid’s medical
department declaring themselves
satisfied with the striker’s recovery
from cruciate ligament surgery.