James Rodriguez to Real Madrid Nears Completion

Colombia World Cup star James Rodriguez is set to complete his move to Real Madrid, according to reports in Spain.

The 23-year-old, who joined Monaco from Porto in a deal worth £21.5m in May 2013, has opted out of his current contract which runs until 2018.

Having finished an impressive 2014 World Cup tournament in Brazil as top scorer with five goals, and helping Colombia reach the quarter-finals, Real are willing to land Rodriguez in an €80m (£63m) move, which could be offset by the inclusion of a Madrid player, potentially goalkeeper Diego Lopez.

Destination Bernebeu: James Rodriguez Set To Join Los Blancos in a Player Plus Cash Deal.
Destination Bernebeu: James Rodriguez Set To Join Los Blancos in a Player Plus Cash Deal.

The Cucuta-born winger ended his debut Ligue 1 season without a silverware but helped the principality club claim a Uefa Champions League slot for the forthcoming season, scoring a total of 10 goals in 38 matches as well as providing 12 assists- the second highest in the French top division.

On Sunday, one Twitter user Juanma Gomez (@jmagomez8) posted a picture of the former Banfield (in the Argentine Primera Division) player in what appears to be an airport, apparently boarding a flight to Madrid.

He said: “I have just seen James on the Madrid to Medellin plane, we are on the same flight”.