James Rodríguez would follow in the footsteps of Falcao García and would be thinking about landing in Colombian football after the 2024 Copa América.
In this sense, the Colombian’s agents are looking for options in the market. Europe is the priority and MLS is an alternativebut it is still too early to know where the ’10’ career can go.
Colombian football is several places further down the line, but James would leave a small gap for anyone who wants to get into the complex journey of reaching a possible agreement.
Paolo Arenas, Colombian journalist, told in 100% Sharka program dedicated to Junior de Barranquilla, that the possibility of seeing the Cucuteño midfielder in the BetPlay League is not as distant as many think.
“I called a person close to James and also spoke on Junior’s side. I found out the following: he was in the Colombian National Team training camp before leaving for the Copa América. There was an initial approach”he explained.
Junior knows very well that James Rodríguez is an expensive player and that his salary could only be paid through sponsors, just as Millonarios recently did to convince Falcao García.
He shark He has already made costly moves like that of Miguel Borja or Juan Fernando Quintero, but none as big as what it would mean to bring the captain of the Colombian National Team right after a Copa América.
From the Barranquilla club they would have told him: “James, if you are released from the contract with São Paulo, your salary appears here. If he leaves the Brazilian team, here at Junior we will pay him the salary.”
“That’s the first piece that fits. Before, Junior had called to ask about the situation and they told him that the clause was more than 50 million dollars and that was as far as it went,” says Arenas.
The only possibility for James to land in Colombia is if he does not have a working relationship with any other club. “Junior doesn’t want to know anything about that clause. So, if he is released, they look for the salary. How does that salary appear? What Juan Carlos Rocha says fits in here: he said that there is someone with a lot of power who said that he loved that player and that if he had to put money out of his pocket, he would do it. That person was the one who made him the promise of the salary,” he added.
The highlight of this version is that James Rodríguez would not rule out coming to Junior. “James said that as long as he does not have an offer from Europe, MLS or a place where there is a lot of money, he plays in Junior because it is Colombian soccer and above all because it is Barranquilla, which is the home of the National Team. So, as long as there are no more interesting options, he said ‘I’m going there.‘”, declared the journalist.
However, the possibility of hitting the table against the other big clubs that have been adding important names, such as David Ospina or Falcao himself, leaves the door open to a new ‘bombshell’ that would surely be historic for the FPC.
