James Rodriguez's long-term future at Bayern Munich will not be decided in 2018, according to chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.
Reports have indicated James' parent club Real Madrid could seek to send the Colombia international to Bayern on a permanent deal at the end of the season as part of a transfer involving Robert Lewandowski.
Bayern have a €42 million purchase option on James but the Bundesliga leaders are not in a hurry to secure the 26-year-old, while Lewandowski prompted speculation about his future this month by hiring Pini Zahavi as his new agent.
"It was Carlo Ancelotti's idea to sign [James] and I think that was a very good idea," Rummenigge told Bayern TV.