James Rodríguez joins Bayern Munich in a two-year loan deal

Colombian forward joins from Real Madrid ending Manchester United speculation

James Rodríguez has joined Bayern Munich on a two-year loan deal from Real Madrid. Photograph: Aitor Alcalde/Getty
James Rodríguez has joined Bayern Munich on a two-year loan deal from Real Madrid. Photograph: Aitor Alcalde/Getty

Bayern Munich have signed James Rodríguez from Real Madrid in a two-year loan deal. The 25-year-old moves to the German champions after three seasons in the Spanish capital, where he never managed to secure a guaranteed starting place. Bayern have an option to buy the Colombian at the end of the loan deal.

Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, the Bayern executive board chairman, said: "We are very happy that we have managed to conclude this transfer. The signing of James Rodríguez was the big wish from our manager, Carlo Ancelotti, after the two of them worked together successfully at Real Madrid.

“James is a very versatile player. He scores a lot of goals himself and is also able to set up goals and sets overall high standards. We have, without question, heightened the quality of the squad with this transfer.”

Rodríguez will join up with the Bayern squad immediately and travel with his new team-mates on the 12-day tour in China and Singapore.

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Bayern are expected to sell Douglas Costa to Juventus. The German side have already signed Corentin Tolisso (Lyon, €41m), Serge Gnabry (Werder Bremen, €8.7m), Sebastian Rudy (Hoffenheim, free), Kingsley Coman (Juventus, €20.8m) and Niklas Süle (Hoffenheim, €21.8m).