After more than a month off after terminating his contract with San Pablo after the 2024 Copa América in the United States, in which he finished runner-up with Colombia and was chosen as MVP, James Rodríguez finally defined his future and, despite having been linked with River, he became a new reinforcement for Rayo Vallecano, from La Liga in Spain. Raúl Martín Presa, president of the club, spoke about his signing and made a curious comparison in which he involved Lionel Messi.
“It’s a pride to enjoy a player like him, he’s at the peak of his career. He was just MVP of the Copa America a month ago, ahead of Messi,” he began in an interview with El Partidazo on COPE. “Do I prefer James to Messi? What I’m telling you is that the tournament’s jury decided that he was a more important player than Messi. But it would be foolish to argue about what Messi has been in the last two decades,” he added.
On the other hand, his euphoria did not end there and he even dared to compare it with the arrival of Diego Armando Maradona to Napoli. “I put it at the same level as when a newly promoted team like Napoli to Serie A signed Diego Armando Maradona,” he said. “At that time it was a humble team, although it is a great team. The same thing has happened now when a club like Rayo has been able to sign a player like James who has just been the best player in the Copa America,” he concluded.
Shortly before James Rodríguez’s arrival at Rayo Vallecano, another Colombian wore the Madrid team’s shirt and it was Radamel Falcao García, who was instrumental in providing the phone number of the former Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Banfield player, among others. “I called James a month ago. His phone number? I have it easy. We have a mutual friend who is Falcao. We sent him a WhatsApp. From there we started to work,” said Martín Presa, president of the club. “We explained our project to him, what we want and what this club is. James wanted to return to La Liga and in the end he has achieved it,” he concluded.
