Yerry Mina: Barcelona signing was rejected by Real Madrid despite James Rodriguez plea

REAL MADRID rejected the chance to sign Barcelona new boy Yerry Mina despite the pleas of James Rodriguez, reports say.
Barcelona look set to sign Mina from Palmeiras after the club announced it had agreed a fee with the Brazilian side for the defender.

However, the player very nearly ended up at Real Madrid.

Spanish outlet Don Balon say that Rodriguez, who plays alongside Barcelona new boy Mina for the Colombia national team, recommended his signing to Real president Florentino Perez and manager Zinedine Zidane.

Rodriguez supposedly knew his compatriot was ready to embark on a new challenge elsewhere and thought he would be an ideal fit for the current La Liga and Champions League holders.
However, Don Balon say Zidane rejected the deal.

It is said he dismissed the idea of signing Mina because he did not want anything to hamper the development of Raphael Varane.



Varane was linked with a move to Manchester United back in the summer.

But Zidane allowed veteran Pepe to move to Turkey with Besiktas in order to make Varane happy and keep him at the club.
As a result, it means Mina will now become Barcelona’s second signing of the transfer window.
The Catalan giants acted swiftly to sign Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool at the weekend.

And Mina will now compete with the likes of Samuel Umtiti, Gerard Pique and Thomas Vermaelen for a starting berth.

However, his arrival could signal the departure of Javier Mascherano, who is closing in on a move to the Chinese Super League.

Source:www.express.co.uk