James Rodríguez will not debut against Barcelona: this is what we know about the Colombian’s first match with Rayo Vallecano

James Rodriguez will play the 2024/2025 season with Rayo Vallecano and could renew for another year – credit Reuters and Rayo Vallecano

After Rayo Vallecano announced James Rodríguez as its new star signing for the 2024-2025 season, as part of the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the team from the city of Madrid, the next question that fans asked themselves was when will the Colombian midfielder make his debut in the Spanish LaLiga?

The first official announcement from Rayo Vallecano suggested that James would not be at the match on Tuesday 27 August at the Vallecas stadium against FC Barcelona, ​​not even to be presented to the more than 14,000 fans who bought tickets for this match, without knowing that the Colombian would be announced prior to the match: “Due to the importance of the match that will be played tomorrow at the Vallecas Stadium, the date for the presentation of James Rodríguez will be announced in the coming days.”

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Then it was Rayo Vallecano coach, Íñigo Pérez, who confirmed that the best player of the Copa América USA 2024 would not be part of the squad, since the last formal training session was before the final of the Conmebol national team tournament and since then, although he has kept in shape thanks to his personal physical trainer, he is not fit for the competition.

After almost two years, the Colombian player returned to European football – credit @jamesrodriguez10/Instagram

“We have to go little by little, it’s true that we have to calm down our desire. He’s here, he’s a great addition and he’s exciting people (…) We have to wait a bit because he’s coming off a rest after finishing the Copa América late, but we’re very happy with his arrival” declared the coach in the preview of the match against FC Barcelona.

After the match against FC Barcelona, ​​Rayito will face RCD Espanyol on Saturday 31 August at 12:15 pm at the Cornellà-El Prat stadium. James Rodríguez’s performance in training will determine his availability for the match.

This was Rayo Vallecano’s announcement of the signing of James Rodríguez – credit Rayo Vallecano

Rodríguez’s signing did not involve a monetary transfer, as the player arrived at Rayo Vallecano on a free transfer, avoiding a payment that could have reached 5 million euros, according to the Transfermarkt portal. However, Rodríguez’s salary will be the highest in the club’s history, even surpassing that of his compatriot Radamel Falcao. According to various reports, negotiations for the approximate salary were around three million euros per season.

The club confirmed the arrival of Rodriguez in a statement, celebrating the signing of its “star” in a special season, coinciding with its 100 years of history. In the document, the team underlines that James “represents the values ​​of the club” and has aspirations to achieve significant achievements. For his part, James expressed his enthusiasm saying: “I am very excited to be able to play a match here and be able to show that I want to win.”

The acquisition of a player of the calibre of James Rodriguez will surely attract more media and commercial attention, something that Rayo Vallecano is looking to take advantage of in its centenary year. Shirt sales and more spectators at matches could be some of the positive consequences of this agreement.

James Rodríguez’s shirt for the 2024-2025 season, with which he will represent Rayo Vallecano in the stadiums of LaLiga in Spain, is now available on the website of the Spanish team’s technical sponsor, Umbro. The price set on the website is 90 euros (404,000 Colombian pesos) and shipping is free to countries in the European Union. However, the company does not yet have the option of shipping to Colombia enabled.