James Rodriguez’s move to Everton has brutally been described as the Colombia midfielder’s final chance to salvage his career after struggling with injuries at Real Madrid.
James formally completed his transfer to Everton on Monday night after the Toffees agreed on a two-year deal with the option to retain the 29-year-old for a third term, while paying a reported £22million to reunite head coach Carlo Ancelotti with his former Los Blancos playmaker.
The midfielder arrived on Merseyside last week ahead of completing his medical, but was forced to wait before being unveiled in royal blue due to the Toffees and Galacticos continuing to thrash out the final terms of the transfer right up until Monday morning.
The move carries great pressure from Colombia, though, as it is seen in James’ native country to be his final chance at reviving a career that has stumbled drastically since his excellent 2014 World Cup exploits.
“For a long time, there was a lot of resistance to the idea of James leaving Real Madrid and taking what would be seen as a step down,” Bogota-based journalist Carl Worswick told the Liverpool Echo. “But now, especially after last season when he started just five games, he has to move on.
“Ok, he likes playing under Carlo Ancelotti and if that’s what it takes to get his career back on track then so be it, but they’d have preferred him to be joining a so-called bigger team.
“He supposedly turned down Ancelotti’s Napoli last year because he wanted to stay at the top table of world football but maybe there’s a realisation from him that he needs this.
“James is 29 now and I heard a Colombian journalist say the other day ‘if he doesn’t make it at Everton, let’s turn the lights off and go home.’”
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James shone under Ancelotti when the pair were first united in Madrid, with the midfielder boasting 17 goals and 18 assists under the Italian during the 2014/15 season. Those efforts seem a distant past now, however, as the 29-year-old managed to start just five of his eight La Liga appearances under Zinedine Zidane last term.
Injuries ran riot throughout James’ campaign and meant the 5 ft 11 creator only featured for 78 minutes between the end of October and the 2019/20 season drawing to a close.
Zidane was able to name James on the bench nine times during that period, showing the Frenchman’s reluctance to field him and give reasons behind the increasing pressure from Colombia for James to make a success of his time at Goodison Park.
If things fail on Merseyside, it would be hard to see where James’ next step would be or what Everton could make in return, but the 76-cap ace’s experience should help lift the Blues up the standings so long as he can stay fit.