Espanyol’s former sporting director has revealed the club were close to signing Real Madrid new boy James Rodriguez in 2010.
AS reports Ramon Planes as telling La Xarxa that Espanyol were looking to get James from Banfield but they missed out due to problems paying the agreed fee.
“In the summer of 2010 we were very advanced and the priority for us was signing James Rodriguez,” Planes said.
“He was very, very close to Espanyol. Talks were in the final part. There was an economic agreement between the clubs, we talked several times and he was eager to come.
“The problem was in guaranteeing the payment and a few days later, he signed for Porto.”
James left Porto for Monaco last summer and, after winning the World Cup Golden Boot with Colombia, moved to Santiago Bernabeu this week.
Planes added that the story the club could have also signed Brazil captain Thiago Silva is wide of the mark.
“Unlike other players, Thiago Silva was never close to Espanyol, but James, he was,” Planes confirmed.
