James Rodriguez: "Happy at Bayern Munich, important games to come"
Real Madrid loanee James Rodriguez says Bayern Munich's title run-in has his full attention, and has reaffirmed how happy he is playing for the record German champions amidst increased speculation regarding his future at the club.
James, 27, has been an integral part of Bayern's table-topping resurgence in recent weeks, and scored his first professional league hat-trick in the 6-0 drubbing of Mainz on Sunday.
Bayern have an option to buy the Madrid-owned playmaker when his two-year loan deal expires at the end of the season, but formal talks to iron out his plans have been put on ice as the defending champions ramp up their pursuit of a seventh successive Bundesliga title.
"It's still up in the air," James told Sport1 after taking his Bundesliga tally to 14 goals in 40 top-flight appearances on Matchday 26. "There's nothing more I can say about it. We've got some important games coming up, then we'll sit down and talk about it, but I'm very happy here."
Watch: James reflects on his first Bundesliga hat-trick
Bayern sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic also confirmed that "discussions can wait until the time is right", before lauding the Colombia star's virtuoso display in the win over Mainz that took the defending champions seven goals clear of second-placed Borussia Dortmund at the top the Bundesliga standings.
"James was magnificent," the 42-year-old said succinctly.
Salihamidzic wasn't the only Bayern cast member to doff his hat to James following the former Porto and Monaco magician's three-goal salvo at the Allianz Arena.
Thomas Müller, seen in some quarters as a direct rival with the Colombian for a place in the Bayern starting line-up, could not speak highly enough of his teammate.
"I've always said I like playing with him best of all because he's someone who is always looking for the ball," Müller explained. "He distributes the ball really well, and I love to run into the spaces where he wants to play it."
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For James himself, meanwhile, a 19-minute hat-trick is all part of the service.
"The hat-trick was really nice for me, so I took the ball," the Bayern No.11 - with four goals and three assists in his last five Bundesliga outings - said modestly.
"It's a great memory, but it was a really good team display. I'm happy to score my first hat-trick. Hopefully more will follow!"
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