James Rodríguez is training with the Colombian National Team, waiting for the first friendly of the tour of the United States, a match in which he will cut more than a month without playing.
And the arrival of Luis Zubeldía to São Paulo ended up condemning him to oblivion. The Argentine strategist does not have James in his plans and has said publicly that he does not see him ready to be part of the squad that qualified for the round of 16 of the Copa Libertadores and fights at the top of the Brasileirao.
Under this scenario, the Brazilian press assures that the Colombian is on the exit ramp for the next transfer market. If an offer arrives that meets the expectations of both parties, the ’10’ will end his journey in the São Paulo tricolor, where they expected much more than the million-dollar investment they made to bring him from Europe.
In fact, São Paulo gave him permission to leave earlier than expected. The Fifa date only starts this Monday, June 3, but James has been at the headquarters of the Colombian National Team since the beginning of this week.
This gesture of arriving in the country long before the rest of those called up was taken as a declaration of intentions in the Brazilian club, where they assume that their paths will separate no matter what happens in the Copa América.
The truth is that James has the desire to stay in São Paulo, according to former player and club leader Paulo Silas. Speaking to ESPN, Silas assured that he was speaking with Néstor Lorenzo, coach of the Colombian National Team, and one of the questions he asked him was regarding the future of the ’10’.
“He wants to stay. One of the questions I asked Néstor Lorenzo was: ‘Néstor, does he want to stay?’, and he told me: ‘yes, he wants to stay in São Paulo.’ “Beyond what has been said, he wants to stay,” he said in an interview that had a great impact among the fans of the current Brazilian Cup champion.
Could James stay?
In addition to being one of the most beloved players in the history of São Paulo, Silas wrote his history in Argentine soccer with the San Lorenzo shirt, hence his relationship with the current coach of the Colombian National Team, with whom he shared a dressing room in 1994.
The Brazilian’s statements open the door for Zubeldía and James to iron out differences after the Copa América. The only thing that could save that relationship is for the Colombian to make a great presentation with the national team and earn the opportunity to prove it in the second part of the year.
That was the most important achievement of his career, although he went through several prominent teams on the continent, such as Lanús and Racing from Argentina, Cerro Porteño from Paraguay and Independiente Medellín in Colombian soccer.
