Lothar Matthaus has revealed that James Rodriguez has told him Cristiano Ronaldo has encouraged him to join Juventus this summer.
The Colombian international has spent the last two seasons on loan at Bayern Munich, scoring 15 goals and providing 20 assists in 67 appearances.
With that loan spell coming to an end this summer, he’s expected to return to Real Madrid, although question marks remain over where he will be at the beginning of next season.
Matthaus has revealed that after speaking with the 27-year-old, he revealed to him that Ronaldo has been in contact and has urged him to join him in Turin and be part of a Juventus side targeting more major trophies next year.
"I see him at Juventus," Matthäus told AS. "We had a conversation two weeks ago, during the celebration of Bayern’s Bundesliga win."
"He is very close to Ronaldo and told me that he was in contact with him and that he has told him that he wants to have him at Juventus."
"I understand why as James can serve Ronaldo so that he can score and the two of them can shine."
Time will tell if the move materialises, but it would perhaps make sense from a Juventus perspective if they did follow through with a swoop, as Rodriguez’s technical quality and creativity in the final third could be a key benefit for the reigning Serie A champions.
While they have plenty of wide men and a talisman in Ronaldo, they lack that class through the middle that Rodriguez can provide, albeit Paulo Dybala can play a similar role but struggled to shine alongside the Portuguese superstar last season.
In turn, that could open the door for a move for Rodriguez, although AS note that Napoli have also been heavily linked with the former Monaco ace, with Carlo Ancelotti eyeing a reunion of his own after their stint together in the Spanish capital.