By Mark Weasley
The futures of both Alvaro Morata and James Rodriguez have been thrown in the air after both players were conspicuously missing in Real Madrid’s kit launch for the 2017/2018 season, sparking fears that both players are closer to an exit than first thought.
The pair had been rumoured to leave the consecutive Champions League winners, but this latest indirect admission will certainly clear the air that their nearest future lies away from the lush greens the Santiago Bernabéu pitches. The likes of Gareth Bale, Isco and even Nacho helped model the kit, but it is the absence of both Morata and James that has set tongues wagging.
Morata is reportedly close to a move to Manchester United after reportedly agreeing personal terms while James has been offered to the likes of Chelsea and Manchester United in a bid to create space for the potential arrival of French sensation, Kylian Mbappe.
James has really struggled to fit into Zinedine Zidane’s team in recent months, and was altogether left out of the Champions League Final squad, a match Los Blancos won comfortably against Juventus, 4-1. The pair are believed to be on Manchester United’s radar, but differences in the valuation of both players have proved to be a stumbling block so far. Speaking last week about his future and that of James, Spanish international, Morata said: “Who knows, maybe we’ll be team-mates next year.”
Real Madrid won the League and Champions League with Morata scoring 20 goals, while James contributed 13, with majority of both players’ appearances coming from the substitutes’ bench.
