Zidane: James Rodriguez is not guaranteed first-team spot at Real Madrid

Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane has warned James Rodriguez not to expect a first-team place at the Santiago Bernabeu next season.

Rodriguez, 25, has been linked with a move away from the Spanish giants after a disappointing season, with the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain mooted as potential suitors.

The Colombia forward, who top scored in the 2014 World Cup, is contracted to Real until 2020 and was signed for an initial fee of about €80m (£67m) from Monaco in 2014.

"The idea with James is the same as with everyone else – he's a Real Madrid player," Zidane was quoted as saying by the Daily Mail.

"I'm not going to tell you that James is a starter. He's an important player. We'll see what happens this year, I have a big squad and it's complicated.

"I have to play the most competitive side I can and I'll do the same thing this season, that's my responsibility."

North America tour

Rodriguez scored seven goals in 26 league appearances for Real last season.

He struggled to establish himself in the starting XI in the first half of the campaign amid reports of a falling out with former Madrid boss Rafael Benitez, while question marks were also raised about his temperament and fitness.

Zidane and his Real squad are in Canada for the first leg of a pre-season tour of North America, with the defending European champions scheduled to face PSG, Chelsea and Bayern Munich during the trip.

Spanish daily AS has reported that there was conflict between Zidane and club president Florentino Perez over the latter's insistence on 17-year-old Norwegian starlet Martin Odegaard's being included in the travelling party.

Zidane reportedly did not want Odegaard in his pre-season squad as he has no plans to include him in the first team this season, but Perez wanted him on the tour to help Real find a club to loan him to this summer.