Brazilian side Sao Paulo have completed the signing of former Real Madrid player James Rodriguez on a free transfer.
Rodriguez has reached verbal agreement with the club and this will be the tenth club, he will be playing for in his professional football career.
According to reports, James Rodriguez’s contract details has not been revealed but he could earn about €3 million yearly, just like the amount he was earning at Olympiacos.
James Rodriguez will become Sao Paulo 19th signing in the summer of 2023
He will become the 19th signing made by Sao Paulo this summer, having already signed Giuliano Galoppo, Jonathan Calleri, Gabriel Neves, Wellington Rato, Rafael, Alan Franco, David, Felipe Alves and Caio Paulista.
The Brazilian side have also signed Marcos Guilherme, Jhegson Méndez, Raí Ramos, Marcos Paulo, Erison, Nahuel Bustos, Michel Araújo, Pedrinho and Nahuel Ferraresi.
James Rodriguez career’s downfall
The Colombia International football career has continued to go on a downward spiral, following his move to Real Madrid on July 22, 2014.
After producing magic with the Colombian national team at the 2014 FIFA World Cup by scoring the goal of the tournament, his career has gone from good-to-bad-to-worse.
Rodriguez couldn’t get a consistent starting shirt at the Santiago Bernabeu and he was afterwards loaned to Bayern Munich.
At the Allianz Arena, he started to eschew the qualities which he showed before moving to Real Madrid.
Rodriguez stint at Bayern Munich
However, following his two-year loan stint at the Bavarian club and having scored 15 goals and provided 20 assists, James Rodriguez requested that Bayern Munich should not activate the release clause on his loan deal.
The 32-year-old afterwards left Los Blancos to join Everton on September 7, 2020 in a deal worth a fee of £20 million.
James Rodriguez was a consistent feature in Carlo Ancelotti’s side during the 2020/21 season and he made 26 appearances for the club, scoring 6 goals and providing 9 assists across all competitions.
However, following Carlo Ancelotti’s return to Real Madrid, Rodriguez didn’t get any starting shirt under Rafael Benitez, who was appointed as the Italian’s replacement.
In September 2021, the Colombian left Goodison Park to join Qatari side Al-Rayyan, who were then managed by former PSG manager Lauren Blanc.
James Rodriguez made 16 appearances for Al-Raayan, scoring 5 goals and providing 7 assists.
In what would prove to be a career downhill move, the 32-year-old’s contract at the Qatari outfit was ripped up in September 2022.
Rodriguez then experienced another contract termination after joining Greek side Olympiacos in September 2022.
From being an highly-sought after player to being a disregarded footballer, James Rodriguez’s football career has ever since been on the rocks.
James Rodriguez to Sao Paulo
In what initially seemed like a good safe-haven and the right decision by joining Olympiacos, the 32-year-old suddenly experienced his contract getting terminated after playing just 23 games.
In those 23 games played for Olympiacos, the attacker scored 5 goals and provided 6 assists across all competitions.
Despite the manner in which his career has nose-dived, James Rodriguez has raked up an impressive amount of games for Colombia.
He has made 90 appearances for Los Cafeteros, scoring 26 goals and providing 25 appearances across all competitions.
The 32-year-old began his career with Colombian side Envigado before joining Argentine club Banfield.
Rodriguez afterwards made a switch to FC Porto in 2010 before AS Monaco came calling in the summer of 2013.
He has since then played for Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Everton, Al-Raayan and Olympiacos.
Hopefully, James Rodriguez’s stay in Sao Paulo, Brazil turns out to be rewarding and blissful.
