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Everton sporting director Marcel Brands has revealed that James Rodriguez joined the club on a free transfer from Real Madrid. The Columbian made the move to Goodison Park earlier in the summer, where he has been reunited with Carlo Ancelotti.
Speaking in a recent interview, the Everton sporting director revealed that the club had signed the former Real Madrid player for free.
“It was one of the most difficult and weirdest transfer windows ever. We signed six new players, one on a free – James Rodriguez”
James played at Porto and Monaco before making his much talked about move to Real Madrid in the summer of 2014. After an outstanding 2014 FIFA World Cup, the Columbian became the hottest property in the world, but it was the Los Blancos who won the race to his signature. James arrived with a lot of promise and seemed destined to become the next Galactico to light up the Santiago Bernabeu. Unfortunately, he struggled to find his footing in Spain for the next three seasons and failed to cement a place in the first eleven.
The Real Madrid playmaker eventually moved on loan to Bayern Munich for the next couple of seasons, but that did little to revive his career. On his return to the Bernabeu, the Columbian managed just 14 appearances in all competitions in the 2019/20 season and found the back of the net on one solitary occasion. Thankfully, Everton offered him a respite from the Real Madrid nightmare at the start of this season.
There was a lot of confusion regarding the fee involved in the deal. However, the Columbian’s former club Banfield have claimed that James moved from the Spanish giants for free. And it now appears that Brands has confirmed such speculation.
Real Madrid allowed James to leave for free to cut their wage will
Real Madrid's president appeared so keen on trimming his wage bill that he was willing to let the Columbian, who commanded a hefty salary, leave for free. Los Blancos also allowed Sergio Reguilon and Gareth Bale to leave, albeit on loan, as they remain determined to cut their costs.
It is believed that Real Madrid are preparing a blockbuster summer ahead, where they will be targeting Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland. And the saving from the previous summer could certainly come in handy to get the two most sought after players on the planet.
