Napoli withdraw from James Rodriguez race

Serie A side Napoli have withdrawn their interest in Real Madrid midfielder James Rodriguez.

The Italian side were reportedly the front runners to sign the Colombian international this summer, with manager Carlo Ancelotti reportedly keen to bring in the 28-year old, who he previously managed at Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.

However, according to reports in Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, they have now pulled out of the race to sign him, after failing to agree a fee with the Spanish side.

After Bayern declined to take up their €46m purchase option on him in June – following a two-year loan in Bavaria – Real Madrid reportedly stated they would only accept bids in the region of €40, despite Rodriguez only having a year left on his contract.

The only other option for Rodriguez to depart now appears to be to city rivals Atletico Madrid, however having already sold Marcos Llorente to Diego Simeone's side this summer, it is unclear how willing Los Blancos would be to do more business with their neighbours.

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