James Rodriguez is making his return to Madrid yet again, but this time with Rayo Vallecano. James Rodriguez has signed for Rayo Vallecano as a free agent on a 1-year deal, but what do we already know about him in La Liga?
James Rodriguez joined Real Madrid after a stellar World Cup campaign in 2014, ending the tournament as the top scorer with 6 goals along with 2 assists and narrowly missing out on a semi-final spot. This amazing tournament got him a move to Real Madrid, where he was a star in his first season. In his first season, he won La Liga's best midfielder, getting a whopping 13 goals and 13 assists in La Liga, eventually ending the season on 17 goals and 18 assists in all comps. This got him a spot in the La Liga Team of the Season alongside his place in the UEFA Team of the Year. During Madrid's second season, Zidane eventually became manager and although it was a massive success for Madrid, it didn't work out for James as he wasn't part of his plans.
After 2016/17, he went on loan to Bayern Munich for 2 seasons, where he rejuvenated himself and we saw the James Rodriguez we all knew. In 2017/18 he won the Bundesliga and made the Bundesliga team of the season, as he got 7 goals and 11 assists (the third most in the Bundesliga that season) in 19 starts, playing 23 league games in total. He also made the UEFA Champions League squad of the season, even scoring against Real Madrid in the second leg at the Bernabeu after getting an assist in the first. In 2018/2019 he won the Bundesliga again along with the DFB-Pokal, this time getting 7 goals and 3 assists in 13 starts, playing 20 games in total.
After his 2 seasons at Bayern Munich, he got moves to Everton, Ali-Rayyan, Olympiacos, São Paulo, and even a return to Madrid where even though we saw glimpses of his old self, it seemed like the end of his career was near, then the Copa America came. James Rodriguez was outstanding at the Copa America, just about missing out on the trophy due to a loss in extra time against Argentina. James Rodriguez got 6 assists during the Copa America, which is the most any player has ever gotten in a single Copa America edition, breaking Messi's previous record of 5, alongside this he also scored 1 goal. Despite the loss in the final, James Rodriguez won the Golden Ball which is the award given to the best player in the tournament, which of course also saw him in the team of the tournament.
This impressive tournament saw him linked to clubs such as Atlético de Madrid and FC Porto, but as mentioned earlier, he's put pen to paper for Rayo Vallecano. As football fans, we all hope to see James Rodriguez play at his very best. James Rodriguez is capable of making a person fall in love with football, as we’ve all seen the trickery and creativity he can bring to a team.
Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed this, and stay tuned for more!
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