James Rodriguez to sign for Olympiacos and join Marcelo

Posted Thursday, September 15, 2022 by Marca.com

James Rodriguez is set to join Greek club Olympiacos with the 31-year-old Colombian midfielder moving after a spell with Qatar's Al-Rayyan SC.

According to journalist Fabrizio Romano, the Colombian will land in Athens today to finalise the deal.

The player wanted to return to Europe to return to his best form after spending a year in Qatar.

During the summer transfer window, there was speculation that the Colombian star could return to Spain with Valencia. However, the Valencian club ended up ruling out his signing.

James Rodriguez was the record transfer in the 2014 summer transfer window, after an excellent World Cup in Brazil in which he won the Golden Boot.

His role in the tournament led Real Madrid to pay around 80 million euros to Monaco for his signature.

In his first season as a player, James enjoyed a great campaign under Ancelotti, however, he failed to make an impact in the following two seasons under Zinedine Zidane.

From his first season at Madrid, his value began to plummet despite the quality he possesses.

In Zidane's final year, James headed to Bayern Munich on loan, only to return two seasons later as the French coach also returned to Real Madrid.

James was once again a regular substitute for Zidane and left for Everton, under Ancelotti, in search of playing time.

In his first games as a Toffee, it seemed that the Colombian would regain the level he had shown years before at Porto and Monaco, but his prominence faded as his appearances with the English team diminished.

In the end, James opted to try his luck in Qatar, in a league in which he has not excelled either, and where he has lost prominence with his national team, to the point of not being called up on some occasions.

With his public desire to return to Europe, James will be reunited with former Madrid teammate Marcelo as Olympiacos look to make an impact in Europe.