James Rodríguez is presented as Real Madrid’s new number 10

by Guilherme Neto

Florentino Pérez presenting James Rodríguez as Real Madrid new player

After several weeks of rumors pointing to the possibility of James Rodríguez signing for Real Madrid, it all came down to being true this Tuesday night, when the 23-year old attacking midfielder was presented at the Santiago Bernabéu, in front of more than 45.000 people.

The Colombian play-maker was one of the players shining the most in the last World Cup, where he managed to become the competition’s top scorer after scoring a total of 6 goals in 5 games. Colombia may not have gone beyond the quarter-finals (they lost to Brazil), but James Rodríguez surely made enough of an impact to trigger Real Madrid and several other European clubs’ interest on him.

According to several sources in Spain, Real Madrid have paid AS Monaco close to 80 million euros in order to bring James Rodríguez to the Spanish capital, and the Colombian was offered a 6-year deal.

James Rodríguez 6-year contract will allow him to earn a yearly wage of 8-million euros in Real Madrid, which will make of him one the best paid athletes in the club. With the Colombian signing confirmation, it becomes more likely that players like Angel Di María, Sami Khedira or even Karim Benzema might go the opposite way.

Real Madrid kicks off their US pre-season tour friendlies this Saturday (July 26), as they take on Inter Milan at the California Memorial Stadium.

Transfer Details – James Rodríguez – Real Madrid new signing

Transfer Fee: 80 million euros

Yearly salary/wage: 8 million euros

Contract: 6-year deal

Jersey number: #10

Sources: cnn.com / nytimes.com / dailymail.co.uk