James Rodriguez has revealed that Carlo Ancelotti personally talked him out of joining Manchester United after his Real Madrid exit.
The Colombian playmaker was looking for a new route in 2017 after losing his place in Madrid, where Zinedine Zidane's midfield and attacking options had pushed him toward the edge of the squad.
Manchester United appeared to be the obvious next step, but Ancelotti's call changed the direction of his career and sent him to Bayern Munich instead.
Photo by Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images
In an excerpt from James Rodriguez's Netflix documentary , the former Real Madrid star explained how close he was to joining Manchester United before Bayern Munich entered the picture.
Rodriguez said, "I was going to join Manchester United, and Jorge [Mendes] said to me, 'Do you want to go to Bayern?'
"And I said, 'Where am I going to play? There's Ribery , Robben …' He said, 'Carlo [Ancelotti] asked for you.'"
The hesitation made sense because Bayern already had established attacking stars, while United looked like a huge Premier League move for a player who needed minutes and status after Madrid.
James had worked under Ancelotti at Real Madrid during his best season at the club, so the message that Bayern's coach specifically wanted him carried more weight than a standard transfer pitch.
That existing trust gave Bayern an advantage, even when Manchester United seemed ready to become his post-Madrid destination.
Ancelotti's intervention was blunt enough to stop Rodriguez from following the path he thought he was taking.
Rodriguez continued, "Carlo called me, and I said, I think I'm going to Manchester.' And he replied, 'What Manchester? Manchester are dead. You have to come here with me.'
"I think it was a good decision to go to Bayern Munich," he concluded.
In 2017, Jose Mourinho's side had won the Europa League and EFL Cup, but they had also finished sixth in the Premier League and were still trying to recover their old authority after Sir Alex Ferguson's exit.
Bayern offered James a different kind of certainty. He joined on a two-year loan, won Bundesliga titles, and played 67 games for the club, contributing 15 goals and 20 assists during his spell in Germany.
The move did not become a long-term Bayern marriage, but Rodriguez's own verdict is clear. Ancelotti's trust mattered, United's project did not convince him enough, and choosing Munich gave him a better football home at that moment.
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