James Rodriguez will start the season as a Real Madrid player after the club blocked a move to Atletico Madrid, Standard Sport understands.
The Colombian playmaker returned to training with Madrid on Monday and is in tonight's squad for the Audi Cup clash against Tottenham in Munich.
Having spent the last two seasons on loan at Bayern Munich, the 28-year-old is now in line to make his first Madrid appearance since coming off the bench in the 2-0 win over Malaga as Los Blancos won La Liga on May 21, 2017.
James was not even on the bench for the Champions League final against Juventus in Cardiff the following week and coach Zinedine Zidane was willing to sell the midfielder this summer in order to help raise the funds to bring in Paul Pogba.
Atletico were pushing hardest for his signature and with the player keen to stay in Madrid, the Rojiblancos fancied their chances of signing the South American. "It would be very special," Atleti CEO Miguel Angel Gil Marin said last week. "It depends on the Real Madrid president."
But circumstances have changed at Real over the past week. Madrid have lost midfielder Marco Asensio for most of the season after the 22-year-old ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in the 2-2 draw against Arsenal last Tuesday.
That injury opened up the possibility of James staying at the Santiago Bernabeu and after Friday night's humiliating 7-3 loss to Atletico, Madrid president Florentino Perez has decided that this is no time to be selling a popular player to their fierce rivals.
"You'll have to ask the president (Florentino Perez) who is here next to me," the player's agent, Jorge Mendes, told Marca at an event on Monday. "I just want the best for the player and the best for the club."
James has made 111 official appearances for Madrid, scoring 36 goals.
