Real Madrid sign Monaco forward James Rodriguez

The unexpected star of the World Cup finals, Colombia’s James Rodríguez, has signed for Real Madrid for a reported £63m.

The 23-year-old follows the signing of another key midfielder from the World Cup, Germany’s Toni Kroos who joined for a bargain £20m, and will be given the No10 shirt which was last worn by Mesut Özil.

He passed a medical in the Spanish capital on Tuesday morning and has agreed a six-year deal at the Bernabéu. Real Madrid will present him to the fans in their stadium at 7pm BST.

A Real Madrid statement read: “Real Madrid have reached an agreement with Monaco for the transfer of James Rodríguez, who will join the club for the next six seasons.

“The player will be presented today in the Santiago Bernabéu’s presidential box. Following that, he will take his first steps on the Santiago Bernabéu’s pitch wearing the Real Madrid shirt.”

The fee makes Rodriguez the fourth most expensive transfer of all time after Real’s £86m for Gareth Bale and £80m for Cristiano Ronaldo, and Barcelona’s £75m for Luis Suárez.

Rodríguez was one of the revelations of the World Cup, scoring in each of Colombia’s games as they reached the quarter-finals of the competition for the first time, eventually losing 2-1 to the hosts Brazil.

He scored six goals at the World Cup to finish as the leading scorer – one clear of Thomas Müller – while his 25-yard volley against Uruguay was voted goal of the tournament.