European champions Real Madrid have completed the £63million signing of Colombian star James Rodriguez from Monaco.
He was one of the World Cup’s star players, finishing as top scorer and scoring arguably the goal of tournament.
Germany star Toni Kroos has also arrived in the Spanish capital this summer for a fee in the region of £24million from German giants Bayern Munich.
The 24-year-old star has just become a world champion with Germany and in 2013 also won the Champions League with Bayern.
Surplus
Real Madrid now has a surplus of players that can play in midfield and the attacking midfield roles. Los Blancos were already overloaded in midfield but the arrivals of James and Kroos will inevitably lead to high-profile departures.
Successful
A player who has been consistently linked with a move away from the Bernabeu is Argentinian star Angel Di Maria. Di Maria arrived at Real as a winger and was successfully converted to a central midfielder last season.
The move paid dividends as the Argentinian midfielder picked up 25 assists in La Liga and Champions League last season. His 17 La Liga assists was the best of any player in Europe’s top five leagues, which says a lot about the 26-year-old’s performances last season.
Star
James Rodriguez arrives at the Bernabeu with a big reputation and a big price tag. He is regarded as a player with more of a star profile than Di Maria, a typical Real Madrid player in many senses. Di Maria on the other hand just gets on with his job and does it unselfishly.
Di Maria is important to Real Madrid and illustrated that in his club’s Champions League victory over arch-rivals Atletico Madrid in May. It was Di Maria, not the more illustrious Cristiano Ronaldo or Gareth Bale that inspired the team to ‘La Decima’.
Di Maria is skilful, but for some reason he is not regarded as a ‘Galactico’. Rodriguez will be seen as a ‘Galactico’ type signing. His price tag, his profile and his image are likely to make him a big favourite in the Spanish capital.
Outstanding
In the past few seasons Toni Kroos has established himself as one of the top playmakers in world football. Kroos makes the game look so easy at times that you wonder why other players make such a meal of the game sometimes.
His passing ability and tendency to produce key passes made him a mainstay of the Germany team during the World Cup and a vital player for Bayern for the last few seasons. He can play as a number ten or he can play deeper. His ability to play deeper could put Di Maria’s new found position in danger.
Close
Angel Di Maria came close to leaving the club last summer, so the story goes Cristiano Ronaldo stepped in and told the Real hierarchy that they would be making a mistake by selling the midfielder. I am not sure if that is true or not, but I am sure that the Portuguese star appreciates his underrated teammate.
In-demand
If Di Maria was put up for sale this summer there would be no shortage of takers for the Argentinian star. The 26-year-old is reportedly attracting interest from the likes of Manchester United and Liverpool.
However, the midfielder is odds of 1/ 4 to be with big spending French outfit Paris Saint Germain after the window shuts. They have already spent big on Brazil centre-back David Luiz, but are still believed to be ready to splash the cash.
Di Maria would be an excellent signing for any of those clubs. He would be regarded as a marquee signing for most clubs, especially Premier League clubs.
Good signings
I have to say that I think that Real Madrid have made two very good signings in James Rodriguez and Toni Kroos. Both are players who have time to grow and develop their immense talent. They have made Real Madrid’s squad stronger.
Typical
However it would be typical of Real Madrid to sacrifice the very player that helped the team achieve success last season in favour of a player that is regarded as a more of a star. A team cannot just be built on star players, as the Galactico era proved.
Anywhere else Di Maria would be seen as a star player and valued, but in the crazy world that is Real Madrid he may just be heading for the Bernabeu exit door.
Will Real Madrid sell Angel Di Maria this summer?
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