Atletico Madrid fullback Santiago Arias admits he spoke to James Rodriguez about a possibly joining him this season.

James was tipped to leave Real Madrid this summer, with Atletico being touted as a possible destination, but he ended up staying at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu.

"We talked about Atleti," Arias, who plays with James in the Colombian national team, told Onda Madrid.

"I asked him if the rumours were true and I explained how things were here, but not much else.

"There were options, but we didn't speak about it much more because it was down to the clubs."