James Rodriguez, 33, ‘will be unemployed for the fifth time in five years’ despite winning Copa América best player award

JAMES RODRIGUEZ is expected to be unemployed for the fifth consecutive year as he reportedly intends to return to Europe.

The 33-year-old playmaker rolled back years this summer by being named best player of the tournament at the Copa América.

He provided six assists to help take Colombia to the final, but he and his teammates suffered in a 1-0 defeat to Argentina.

The ex-Real Madrid star’s prominence came despite going through a difficult campaign at club level.

Rodiguez moved to Brazil last summer to sign for São Paulo, but played just 36 minutes in the top flight.

Now journalist Garcia Grova has stated that he is about to terminate his contract with them.

And he wants to try his luck in Europe once again after proving that he still has a lot to offer.

Transfer Guru Fabricio Romano also supported this by offering an update on the situation.

He posted on X: “James Rodriguez, will be available as a free agent terminating his contract by mutual agreement with São Paulo.

“He is about to part ways with the club after an excellent Copa América. James would love to return to European football.”

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Rodriguez recently hinted at a possible return to Everton.

He joined the Toffees in 2020 to reunite with his former Real Madrid and Bayern Munich manager Carlo Ancelotti.

The striker became a cult hero at Goodison Park before being left out by Ancelotti’s unpopular successor Rafael Benitez.

Since leaving Merseyside, Rodriguez has played for Al-Rayyan, Olympiacos and São Paulo.

But he fell out of favor at the Brazilian club under new coach Luis Zubeldia.

And now everything indicates that he will be on the move once again.

It was at the 2014 World Cup that Rodriguez burst onto the scene as one of football’s hottest properties.

But amid offers from Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City, he opted to join Real Madrid after lighting up the tournament in Brazil.

On why he made this decision, he revealed last month: “PSG and City wanted me [in 2014]both teams came with more important offers than what Madrid offered.

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“Florentino Perez called me and tried to convince me: ‘What do you want? Money or Glory?

“I replied that I wanted glory, and he then said, ‘well, then it’s done’.”

Rodriguez won two LaLiga titles and two Champions Leagues with Real Madrid.

He then spent two years on loan at Bayern Munich between 2017 and 2019, adding two Bundesliga titles to his trophy collection.

He returned to Real Madrid for the 2019-20 campaign, before joining Everton in September 2020.

Rodriguez starred 26 times for the Toffees, scoring six goals and providing eight assists, but they only managed to finish 10th.

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