By Alfredo Di Cesare
26 Aug 2024, 10:42 AM EDT
The rumours have finally come true. James Rodriguez has not only returned to European football, but he has also returned to Spain’s La Liga and to the city of Madrid. This Monday, the Colombian’s signing for Rayo Vallecano was made official.
The midfielder arrives for free, as a free agent. This, after canceling his contract a couple of months ago with São Paulo of Brazil. The high sporting performance that James showed with Colombia in the 2024 Copa América that was played in the United States, gave him a second youth and a boost in his career.
Being the best player of the tournament, leading Colombia to the final with six assists (a record for the competition) and one goal, earned him a spot in several clubs from the old continent.
Rayo Vallecano made the signing official on social media and have already published the player’s first words as a new signing. This is James’ eighth European team and the eleventh in his entire career, counting South America and Asia.
James has not played in Europe since 2022. His last team was Olympiacos in Greece. Before that, he had a stint with Al-Rayyan in Qatar. He also landed at Everton in the Premier League when his contract with Real Madrid ended. He had an intermediate spell thanks to a loan, at Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga.
Although he has already been presented on social media and signed his contract, there is no date for the official presentation ceremony at the Vallecas Stadium. The reason? Rayo plays a league match against FC Barcelona tomorrow, Tuesday.
“Historic club for dreaming big things”
The South American returns to Madrid to play after almost five years. His last season as a player in this city was in 2019 with Zinedine Zidane’s Real Madrid. On the club’s digital channels, James admitted that he was excited to sign for a historic team.
“I feel a great joy, to join a club like Rayo, which is historic. I am eager to do things well. Wherever I go, I feel that responsibility. I like to win. Moreover, in such an important year for the club,” he said.
In this regard, he could not help but mention his compatriot Radamel Falcao, who until recently had been Rayo’s star signing. He played for a couple of seasons and made very good offensive contributions. The influence of the ‘Tigre’ was one of the things that helped him decide to land in Vallecas.
“Falcao is an idol for all of Colombia, he has done a lot for our country. I hope to perform well here like he did. The atmosphere is very good here, they were very supportive,” he said.
“It has been a long day of work, but we are here now. I would like to thank the club and the president, and I am looking forward to playing in this historic stadium and dreaming of great things,” he added.
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