Rodriguez ready to fight for Real Madrid shirt

Real Madrid’s Colombian midfielder,James Rodriguez insists he is determined to fight for his place at Real Madrid after revealing the club received a huge offer for him.

After a hugely successful debut campaign at the Bernabeu in which he managed 13 goals and 13 assists, Rodriguez struggled to break into the starting line-up last season.

Head coach Zinedine Zidane favoured a 4-3-3 formation with Casemiro deployed as a holding midfielder, and Luka Modric and Toni Kroos either side of him.

That prompted speculation the 25-year-old Columbian star could be surplus to requirements with the Spanish giants and he revealed that Real have received a £71m bid from an unnamed team in order to tempt them to sell.

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Speaking to Marca, Rodriguez said of his future at the European champions: “I will fight to earn my place. That’s my dream. I will stay at Real Madrid, I will succeed here.

“I know that the club received an €85m (£71m) bid for me, but I’m not leaving.”

Rodriguez started just 17 games in La Liga and was an unused substitute in the Champions League final win over Atletico Madrid but Zidane insists he remains a valuable asset to Real.

“The idea with James is the same as with everyone else – he’s a Real Madrid player,” said Zidane.

“I’m not going to tell you that James is a starter. He’s an important player. We’ll see what happens this year, I have a big squad and it’s complicated.

“I have to play the most competitive side I can and I’ll do the same thing this season, that’s my responsibility.”

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