Former Everton player James Rodriguez has recalled a conversation he had with Rafael Benitez when the Spanish coach insisted that there was no future at the club for the Colombian international due to his age.
Rodriguez joined the Blues in the summer of 2020, linking up with his former Real Madrid and Bayern Munich boss Carlo Ancelotti, but when the Italian coach unexpectedly re-joined the La Liga giants, the playmaker soon departed Goodison Park.
However, James has stated that his departure in the summer of 2021 was not of his own making, insisting that Ancelotti’s successor, Rafael Benitez, advised him to find a new club.
Rodriguez recalls, “The coach (Benitez) told me on the first day of pre-season, ‘you are old, you are already 30 years old, I prefer to have young people, with energy. So, find yourself a club’. I told a leader, after three months he will be out, I have already worked with him.
“I told him after three months look for me and after three months he (Benítez) was already out.”
Indeed, Rodriguez wasn’t far off the mark, with Benitez lasting just 6-and-a-half months at Everton, who was subsequently replaced by Frank Lampard in January 2022.
Benitez and Rodriguez had previously worked together during their time at Real Madrid, and it was alleged that there was tension between the pair following their experiences in the Spanish capital.
The 31-year-old scored 6 goals for the Toffees in 26 appearances, before moving to Qatari side Al-Rayyan in 2021.
Despite his injury record, Everton had a truly world class talent on their books, and let him go on the authority of arguably the worst managerial appointment in the club’s history.
Now at Greek side Olympiacos, James has scored 3 goals in 14 games for the Athenian club.