"Despite the future of James Rodriguez is not clear,Real madrid Manager Zinedine Zidane will not entertain any Rumour of a close season exit".
Zinedine Zidane refused to be drawn into
discussions over James Rodriguez's future at Real
Madrid, insisting he and the squad are interested
only in Wednesday's crucial LaLiga clash with
Celta Vigo.
Reports this week have suggested James is set for
a big-money close-season move to Manchester
United after falling down the pecking order at
Santiago Bernabeu.
The attacking midfielder moved to Madrid after a
stellar 2014 World Cup that saw him win the
Golden Boot award, but has found playing time
limited since Zidane took over in January 2016.
But Zidane was keeping his cards firmly to his
chest when asked about James' future at a pre-
match news conference.
"James is here, that's not up for question. He's
with us," he said.
"He didn't train [on Tuesday] because he has a
knock, but James is here and we're thinking just
about the three games we have left this year."
Another player whose future in the Spanish capital
is believed to be up in the air is Spain striker
Alvaro Morata, who has spent much of the
campaign playing second fiddle to Karim Benzema.
Morata was pictured seemingly snubbing a
handshake from Zidane when substituted in
Sunday's 4-1 rout of Sevilla.
But Zidane, whose side need four points from their
remaining two matches to win LaLiga, insists he
was not the cause of the striker's irritation.
"Morata wasn't angry with me, he was angry at
something else," he added. "I don't know what but
it can happen, it's fine. We spoke and that's it."
Zidane was also asked about Gareth Bale, who
remains an injury absentee after aggravating a calf
issue against Barcelona in last month's Clasico.
It has been suggested Bale will be fit for the
Champions League final against Juventus in Cardiff
on June 3, but the Frenchman reiterated his focus
is purely on Celta.
"Listen, right now is not the time to talk about
that," Zidane said.
"I can tell you how he is, he's a lot better, he's out
on the pitch, not with the group, but that's
positive.
"We're happy with that, but we just have to think
about the game [with Celta] and that's it. Gareth
isn't with us."
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