CAPE TOWN – Real Madrid attacking midfielder James Rodriguez has revealed he nearly joined Manchester United in 2013 due to the close relationship his agent, Jorge Mendes, has with the club.
The Colombian was attached to FC Porto in Potugal, and was impressing a lot of big clubs with his ability, which led to the link with United. Instead, he moved to France’s Ligue 1, where he signed for AS Monaco.
After impressing at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, Rodriguez left France for the bright lights of the Spanish La Liga with Real Madrid, where he has struggled to make an impact.
Speaking on Rio Ferdinand’s The Locker Room, Rodriguez spoke about how close he was to signing or the English giants, and why he ultimately chose Monaco.
"My [agent] has a great relationship with the club, and his name is Jorge Mendes,” said Rodriguez.
"Well, we always dream of getting in a big club. Since I was a child I always admired Manchester.
"I always saw those teams with Rio, with [Ryan] Giggs and [Paul] Scholes, there were a lot of prodigious players, and I wanted to get there in that year, but it didn’t happen.
"I thought that I had to play for a club that wasn’t so big. From there I went to France, just before the World Cup.
"My plan was to go to the World Cup, have great participation there, score goals, reach a good level and from there play for a big club. Then the Real Madrid thing happened."