James Rodriguez gains Spanish citizenship, making Real Madrid return more likely LaLiga Santander The Colombian now has Spanish passport

Bayern Munich star James Rodriguez, on loan from Real Madrid, has finally received his eagerly awaited Spanish citizenship.

As a result of Monday morning's revelation, he will no longer count as a foreign player - with teams in LaLiga Santander able to register just three non-EU players - which will no doubt be welcome news to Madrid, who are rumoured to be interested in bringing him back to the club.

The initial report regarding James' Spanish citizenship came from El Confidential and has since been confirmed by MARCA.

Ahead of the 2019/20 campaign, Madrid will register Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo Goes and Eder Militao, which means they would be unable to add a fourth non-EU player.

Now that James has his Spanish passport, he would be able to return to the club and be registered as a European player.

With the Colombian's future at the German club very much in doubt, today's news will be of interest to not only Madrid, but also the rest of Europe's elite, who would be far more willing to sign him given his new status.

Having said that, James cut himself a lonely figure at Madrid during Zinedine Zidane's first spell, which casts doubt over whether the player would want to return now that the Frenchman is back at the helm.