James Rodriguez is unlikely to stay at Bayern Munich once his two-year loan deal from Real Madrid expires at the end of this season, according to Marca – though a return to the Spanish capital has been complicated by the rehiring of Zinedine Zidane.

The Colombia playmaker hasn’t started any of Bayern’s last four games, ostensibly due to injury. He was taken off at half-time in his last appearance, the DFB-Pokal game against Heidenheim, because of a muscle injury and has made only two substitute appearances since.

His unwillingness to stay – James has reportedly told the Bayern board he wants to leave in the summer – is thought to be the reason manager Niko Kovac is reluctant to play him even when fit. The relationship between the pair has deteriorated in recent weeks, especially after the 27-year-old was dropped from the crucial fixture against Borussia Dortmund, which Bayern went onto win 5-0 to take control of the Bundesliga title race.

“We dropped James Rodriguez and Leon Goretzka against Dortmund for technical reasons,” Kovac said ahead of the DFB-Pokal semi-final Werder Bremen.

“This decision led to us winning 5-0, so you ask yourself, ‘why would I change anything?'”

Bayern would have to pay £42 million to make his transfer permanent, with club president Uli Hoeness having previously said he is unwilling to pay such a fee for a player who doesn’t start.

James is under contract at Madrid until 2020, but a lack of playing time under Zidane was one of the reasons he left Los Blancos in the first place. With the Frenchman having rejoined as manager this season, it’s unlikely the Colombian will return to the La Liga club.

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