Aurelio De Laurentiis desperately wants the Colombian ace to join his club, but Los Blancos are not willing to let the player leave easily.

Napoli's main man surely has a curious way of negotiating for a player his coach has named as a key signing...

The Italian club has been named as James Rodríguez's potential destination for quite a few weeks, but Real Madrid and the blue and white side have failed to reach an agreement to see the Colombian ace joining the Serie A side. Now, president Aurelio De Laurentiis has narrowed the team's chances of signing James with a series of critics aimed at Florentino Pérez.

De Laurentiis was baffled by Real Madrid's stance regarding the player's future, since they will not loan the player once again just like they did two years ago. In fact, the Italian exec referred to Bayern München when speaking about Real Madrid's unwillingness to see the deal come true.

I can't understand why Bayern got him (James) on loan, when they have three times our budget. To ask $47M from us with our budget is not the right thing to do," De Laurentiis said.

The Italian exec named the reasons for seeing James' deal becoming a reality on loan.

"If James could get here on loan, it would be a win-win situation for everyone, since it would allow us to sign a striker. Maybe (Nicolas) Pépé, we'll see," De Laurentiis concluded.

These statements made by Napoli's president seem to edge James closer to Atlético Madrid, which is neither James' or Real Madrid's first choice. The next few days will be crucial to find out where the footballer will end up in the summer transfer window, but one thing's for sure: he is not going to play for Real Madrid under Zinedine Zidane.