Carlo Ancelotti says he bought James Rodríguez 'for the future'

LONDON. KAZINFORM The Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has said he bought James Rodríguez for the future after the purchase of the new Colombian superstar appeared to give the European champions a preponderance of world-class midfielders.

Asked whether Real actually needed their new No10, Ancelotti said of the 23-year-old: "Madrid's history will tell you that they always want to have the best players and ones with a future. We have signed one of the World Cup's stars. You need these kinds of players for the future, not just for the present, too."

Rodríguez joined from Monaco for £63m on Tuesday and will join up with his new team-mates on 1 August along with France's World Cup players Karim Benzema and Raphaël Varane, the Guardian reports.

"James finished the World Cup on 30 June and needs a month of holidays and a break," Ancelotti, speaking in Los Angeles where Real are on tour," told As . "He will start on 1 August with Benzema and Varane."

Rodríguez follows the signing of another key midfielder from the World Cup, Germany's Toni Kroos , which has led to speculation that the Argentinian wide man Ángel di María could be on his way, although Ancelotti appeared keen to keep him when he insisted: "Di María is a Real Madrid player, adding: "There's a lot more competition with Kroos and James, but I think at all big clubs there's competition."

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