3rd July, 2014
Monaco said Thursday that World Cup revelation James Rodriguez is not for sale and there have been no talks over his Colombian team-mate Radamel Falcao.
But Monaco vice-president Vadim Vasilyev tantalizingly added that “no-one is untransferable.”
Rodriguez tops the World Cup scoring charts with five goals so far, heightening speculation of a big money swoop by one of Europe’s top teams. Monaco already paid Porto 45 million euros (60 million dollars) for the striker one year ago.
“Everybody was surprised at the sum invested in this player,” said Vasilyev. “Now everyone is talking about James Rodriguez. That means we were right to bring him here.
“We believe in this player a lot. He is very important to our team. He still has four years on his contract and we are going to do great things together,” added the head of the club which finished second in the French league this year, qualifying for the Champions League.
Rodriguez has become a central figure since injury ruled his club and country teammate Falcao out of the World Cup. Falcao is also at the centre of speculation over a move to Spain.
“There are no negotiations with any club,” Vasilyev said. “We are counting on him and we think he will have a great season.”
But the club leader also said that he could not guarantee new coach Leonardo Jardim that any player would still be there when the season starts.
“No-one is untransferable,” he added with a smile. “But there are no discussions. We count on these players.”