James Rodriguez 'gains Spanish citizenship' making Madrid return more likely

Bayern Munich star James Rodriguez, on loan from Real Madrid, has finally received his eagerly awaited Spanish citizenship, reports Marca.

As a result of this morning's revelation, he will no longer count as a foreign player - with teams in LaLiga Santander able to register just three non-EU players - which will no doubt be welcome news to Madrid, who are rumoured to be interested in bringing him back to the club.

Madrid will register Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo Goes and Eder Militao for the 2019/20 campaign, which means that they would be unable to add a fourth non-EU player.

Now that James has his Spanish passport, he would be able to return to the club and be registered as a European player.

With the Colombian's future at the German club very much in doubt, today's news will be of interest to not only Madrid, but also the rest of Europe's elite, who would be far more willing to sign him given his new status.

Having said that, James cut himself a lonely figure at Madrid during Zinedine Zidane's first spell, which casts doubt over whether the player would want to return now that the Frenchman is back at the helm.