AS Monaco tighten grip on Rodriguez

Monaco, July 5 (IANS/EFE) AS Monaco FC vice-president Vadim Vasilyev has no intention of letting go of his side's midfielder James Rodriguez.

"Everyone was surprised that we paid such a large sum a year ago. Now everyone is talking about him, which proves we were right. We strongly believe in this player. He is very important to us. We trust Rodriguez will continue to do great things for us next season," Vasilyev said, reports EFE.

The 22-year-old Colombian is the top scorer in the FIFA World Cup in Brazil with a tally of six goals from five matches.

Rodriguez had earlier said that he wishes to play in Spain and that he prefers Real Madrid to Barcelona.

--IANS/EFE

ss/bg