The 2022 Qatar World Cup has provided football lovers the chance to watch some of the tournament’s top footballers perform in the grandest styles. But a player like James Rodriguez is not part of the party in Qatar, however, that won’t stop him from living the life.
Note that many countries missed out on the competition and some players were also left out because they were nursing injuries in the run-up to the Qatar World Cup.
Due to this, there are tons of big-name players who missed the opportunity to grace the pitch in Qatar.
Out of those players whose nations missed out on the Qatar World Cup tournament is Columbian star player James Rodriguez.
With Colombia falling short of World Cup qualification, the 31-year-old James Rodriguez was denied the chance to imitate his 2014 Golden Boot-winning heroics and instead decided to have some happy moments privately.
James Rodriguez seems to have found alternative ways of passing the time until his colleagues return from Qatar later this month when soccer leagues resume.
The 31-year-old Columbian midfielder posted lovely pictures of himself, sitting beside a beautiful Christmas tree and enjoying the aura of some scented candles spotted in the pictures; a moment he described as a “happy day”
Who is James Rodriguez?
James David Rodríguez Rubio is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or a winger for Super League Greece club Olympiacos and the Colombia national team.
How Old is James?
James is currently 31 years old. He was born on the 12th of July 1991.
James Rodriguez’s Net worth
James Rodriguez’s Net worth is estimated to be around $30 million in 2021, however, his net worth this year is valued at $80 million.
James Rodriguez’s Wife
The 31-year-old Colombia and former Real Madrid forward, James Rodriquez, officially divorced his wife of 6 years, Daniela Ospina amid claims of an affair with a Russian model.
The couple, both Colombian, had married when they were teenagers and had a daughter, Salomé before they got separated in July 2017.
After breaking up with Daniel Ospina, James got engaged to Venezuelan model, Shannon de Lima, 31.
The pair kept their love secret for some years, and have now welcomed a lovely baby boy named Samuel.
Why James didn’t play in the Copa America.
James Rodriguez missed the last matches of the 2020/21 season at Everton following injury and followed a strict physical regiment to make it to the Copa America.
However, at the last minute, Columbian new managerial staff decided it was better to bring in another midfielder than to lose a spot on James that may not be fully fit once the tournament started.
Meanwhile, the decision to exclude the 2014 World Cup top scorer came as a shock to him and the Columbian fans.
James later released a statement claiming he felt disappointed by the decision to leave him out of the tournament, claiming he was healthy.
Rodriguez said: “I want to make it very clear that I was fit to play. This is a managerial decision, and I accept it, but I don’t agree with it because they disrespected me.”
Why isn’t James Rodriguez playing?
On 22 September 2021, James joined Al-Rayyan for an undisclosed fee and made his debut in a 3-0 loss on the 17th of October 2021.
However, his stay at the club wasn’t lengthy as Al-Rayyan terminated the contract of James by mutual consent on the 15th of September 2022 due to misconduct.
At first, the local media explained his absence from the pitch to be a muscular problem and he wouldn’t be seen in action until his recovery is confirmed.
However, the latest version of his absential emerged that Rodríguez was not available for Al-Rayyan by his own decision to press his departure from the club for next season.
On the 15th of September 2022, James Rodríguez joined current club, Greek Super League champions Olympiacos on a free transfer.
James is not playing in the Qatar World Cup tournament following Columbia’s failure to qualify.
What happened to James?
There was a point in time when James was the fastest-rising star in the world of football.
The 31-year-old Columbian midfielder captured the spotlight at the 2014 World Cup, scoring one of the best goals in the tournament history.
James finished the 2014 World Cup tournament with an outstanding six goals and two assists which earned him the golden boot and a 90 million euros transfer deal to Real Madrid.
The 31-year-old Colombian attacking midfielder scored many goals for Los Blancos and established himself as a prime creator for the fearful front three of Ronaldo, Bale, and Karim Benzema.
His greatness continued when he was loaned to Bayern Munich on the 11th of July, 2017.
He won the 2017–18 Bundesliga title and the 2019 DFB-Pokal with Bayern.
However, James Rodriguez’s injury problems were still hanging over him, reducing his appearances for Bayern to 28 matches and scoring seven goals in all competitions.
On June 5, 2019, Bayern Munich announced they would not pick up the buy option and he returned to Real Madrid.
On his return to Real Madrid, James made eight appearances during the league season, as Real Madrid won the 2019–20 La Liga.
Thereafter, he was loaned to Everton in 2020 before he joined Al-Rayyan the following year.
Currently, James Rodríguez is playing for Greek Super League champions Olympiacos where he joined on a free transfer.
