ARTICLE AD
Everything seemed to announce a beautiful romantic story. Like other South American stars (Cavani, Hulk, Marcelo, Vidal, etc.), the former Real Madrid and FC Porto player, James Rodríguez (32), decided last July to leave the Europe once and for all and thus join Brazil to wear the colors of the legendary São Paulo club alongside Lucas Moura and Rafinha. The Colombian hoped that this return to the continent would allow him to bounce back better after stints at Olympiakos in Greece and Al-Rayyan in Qatar, two adventures of a short season concluded by a contract termination. Welcomed like a rockstar in the streets of São Paulo, nothing suggested a new nightmare for the native of Cúcuta, he who had taken the time to describe his trauma experienced in Qatar. Unfortunately, James Rodríguez could well pack up soon despite some positive sparks from his Brazilian espade marked by a Brazilian Cup won.
video
Just over two months ago, James Rodríguez expressed his interest in playing in La Liga again. The Colombian who, during his time at Real Madrid, played 85 matches, scored 29 goals and provided 27 assists in the Spanish first division. Now he would have attracted the interest of Celta de Vigo, who will have to send a formal offer to São Paulo, club with which the midfielder has a contract until 2025. The management would have no problem letting him leave, as Julio Casares, president of the Paulista team, recently indicated: “He is not registered but he has already helped São Paulo a lot. The arrival of James made São Paulo competitive and attractive with the arrival of Lucas. Then, São Paulo became the protagonist of important signings. The player is sometimes not on the field for physical or training reasons. If James leaves, it will be as natural as when he arrived.the leader said during an event to help people affected by the floods in Porto Alegre.
Return to La Liga for James?
Regarding a return to Spain, the former AS Monaco player has always been very clear: “When you come to the national team you always have to do things well and in the future why not be able to come back to La Liga, a league I always wanted to play in and play again. Why can’t I go back?” said James Teledeporte, in March, after Colombia beat Spain in a friendly match. The information that Celta de Vigo is looking to sign James Rodriguez has been leaked by journalists from the Globo Esporte who assured that the Spanish club must now formalize its proposal so that the Brazilians can make a concrete decision. The Colombian’s entourage nevertheless does not want to rush, not knowing that with the Copa América to come, he could attract the interest of a greater number of clubs depending on his performance with his selection. Moreover, according to the Brazilian press, the player’s entourage has been working on his future in recent months, in contact with certain MLS teams and Mexico.
In Spain, in any case, we are actively preparing for the transfer window. Marco Garcés, director of football at Celta de Vigo, assured that the intention is to build a squad of 23 players, 5 of whom will be young people, and the idea is that each position is doubled. He also mentioned the budget available during the next transfer window. Taking into account the current value of James which is set at 4.5 million euros according to Transfermarktthe Colombian international would be one of the options considered by the club: “We hope to be in a budget similar to tenth place in La Liga salary limits (around 100 million euros). Since Marián took office, the guideline has been to put all the money on the table. We are not obliged to make a sale before June 30., added the leader. James Rodríguez could become the third Colombian player in Celta’s history after goalkeeper Luis Gerónimo López and defender Jeison Murillo.