The Allianz Arena supremo insists the club have not yet made a final decision on the Colombian, but he won’t be bought as a tool to raise funds
Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has ruled out a buy-to-sell move for James Rodriguez this summer, stating that the club are not in the “human trafficking” business.
The 27-year-old is due to return to Real Madrid in June after a two-year loan spell with the Bundesliga champions.
Bayern have the option to purchase Rodriguez on a permanent deal for £37 million ($47m) but he is also the subject of interest from a number of top European clubs.
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It has been suggested that the Bundesliga outfit could buy the attacking midfielder just to sell him on for a significant profit while the market is open, but such a notion has been dismissed by Rummenigge.
He claims the club will make a final decision regarding Rodriguez “next week”, but he will not be used purely as a commodity for financial gain.
When asked by AS if Bayern could purchase the Colombia international before sending him off elsewhere, Rummenigge responded: “That’s not the style of Bayern. We don’t want to do human trafficking, to push something elsewhere to make some money. FC Bayern has never been that way.
“We will surely come together next week and we will decide what to do. We must put all options on the table and decide how to handle all those things that aren’t certain yet. We must make exclamation marks out of the question marks.”
Rodriguez has enjoyed a successful couple of seasons in Germany, winning three major trophies while contributing 15 goals across all competitions.
The Madrid ace has, however, struggled to nail down a regular spot in Bayern’s starting XI amid ongoing fitness issues, managing just 20 Bundesliga appearances in total this term.
It is believed that Zinedine Zidane has no place for Rodriguez in his current squad at Santiago Bernabeu, which has led to plenty of speculation over his future.
Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus, Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool have all reportedly expressed an interest in the mercurial star, but no formal offers have been submitted as of yet.
Rodriguez announced himself on the biggest stage at the 2014 World Cup, leading Colombia to the quarter-final stage, but since earning a dream move to Madrid that summer he has been unable to reach the same heights and might benefit from undertaking a new challenge.