beIN SPORTS

By David Cartlidge (@davidjaca)

It’s difficult to decipher who is more ‘free’ after James Rodriguez’s move to Bayern Munich, but the one thing for sure is that both parties can now move on from a deal that left both Real Madrid and the Colombian with countless headaches.

After being bought on the back of a highly successful World Cup, the doubts about James surfaced almost immediately. There is a stigma about signing players in that scenario and it happened to be that was a particularly high profile case. Even in the happier moments it always seemed the fee held both club and player down.

James signed a six-year contract with the Spanish club for a reported to be approximately €80 million. He’d in turn become the fourth-most expensive player in history, the third-most expensive in Real Madrid's history and the most expensive Colombian ever. There would in the end, be a heavy price to pay.

This move to Bayern signals an end - even though it’s a loan - to a largely unsuccessful partnership and one James along with Real Madrid can be liberated from. But where should the blame be directed?

In truth, both can take some of it. James for one had an attitude and approach that fluctuated, and his heart never really seemed in it for Real Madrid. At times he seemed to thrive in adversity but in other instances there was signs of a player who had given up, and maybe grew overly frustrated with life at the club. Younger, hungrier players at Real Madrid took advantage with Isco and then more recently Marco Asensio seemingly putting James in the shade. The Colombian would become the forgotten man despite his astounding fee.

Not only would James become weighed down by his fee, but also quite literally himself. Rumors of excessive partying and an inability to keep himself in shape became rampant. The suggestion is some of the talk was exaggerated and perhaps filtered out by the press, but when given a chance - albeit infrequently, James began to disappoint where he had previously thrived.

And indeed, he did succeed once upon a time. Take early 2015. James had just returned from an unfortunate injury which disrupted his previous strong spell of form. Instead of taking time to regain his fitness and match pace, he instantly performed. All the while, he was often played out of position. James, the golden boy, an apparent new Galactico, dug in and dragged an at times lethargic Real Madrid side. His best moments coming interestingly under his new boss, Carlo Ancelotti, when the Italian was in charge.

James was decisive and showed all the ability that had exploded at the World Cup when featuring with Ancelotti. In the period of the 22 successive wins achieved by the Italian, it was James who was the chief protagonist in the team. James, featuring on the left of a 4-3-3, tucked inside and showed all his associative play qualities, pushing Real Madrid through opponents with his excellent vision of the game. These moments were undoubtedly the best for the Colombian in Madrid and were never truly recaptured.

The club must also question themselves over James’ time with them too. He was never truly given a chance by Zinedine Zidane, and while the team he picked went on to great success, there seemed not to even be a secondary role for him. With the BBC such a prominent feature at the club, there was no room for a natural number ten like James to be an outlet, and in turn if he did not adapt he would find himself out in the cold. He did attempt to, but it was quite clear he cut a frustrated figure and by the end of the 2016/2017 season it seemed he was resigned to being pushed out. It’s difficult to remain motivated when there is no reason to be, and James clearly decided no matter he did, he wasn't going to be in Zidane’s picture.

This move perhaps could’ve come a year earlier for James, and Real Madrid too. Nonetheless it’s better late than never, and at 26-years-old the Colombian can be comfortable in the knowledge he has time to start afresh. His experience in Spain has not been a success, but neither has it been an individual failure. More of the collective variety.

Ancelotti has picked up this lost player once before and made him find his place. Now he must do it again.