Ex-Everton star is surprisingly outperforming Lionel Messi & Co at Copa America
Copa America 2024: The ex-Everton star played just 26 games for the club.
The Copa America may be a tournament that English fans have largely struggled to follow but Everton fans may be surprised to hear a former player is outperforming Lionel Messi and co.
James Rodriguez has been the highest rated player at the tournament, according to football ratings website FotMob. And this was supposed to be a player who was reputedly ‘finished’. The top three players all come from Colombia who topped their group ahead of Brazil meaning they face the easier task of playing a runner-up instead of a group winner - as Panama wait in the final eight.
Having produced two assists in their first win over Paraguay in a 2-1 win before registering another in the win over Costa Rica before then starring against Brazil in the hard-fought draw which secured top spot. Speaking after the first win, it seemed that he was relishing linking back up with his country. “It’s beautiful, they [the fans] are supporting us a lot. We have a long way to go in this Copa América and we’re taking it one game at a time.”
His renaissance on the continental stage has been a surprise given his career has gradually declined periodically since leaving Everton. He spent just one season at Goodison Park, where he recorded six goals and eight assists where he particularly dazzled in the early few months of the season under Carlo Ancelotti.
After that, he ventured to Qatar to join Al-Rayyan for a single season, then Olympiakos and then Sao Paulo in 2023 where he is contracted to until 2025. The Brazilian season continues concurrently to the tournament with Rodriguez’s side sat in fourth, six points off the top. He’s yet to start a game in the league due to a muscle injury he suffered at the start of the season. Further demonstrating the point that no-one expected this turn of form as he went straight into the tournament off the back of missing 11 games.
At 32, he is a legend for his country. That 2014 World Cup run already cemented his legacy 10 years ago even if he never kicked a ball again. With 103 caps and 27 goals, this may be the last great version we get of Rodriguez who is working on and off-the-ball and Colombia are in great form and looking extremely threatening.
Next up is Panama, a game they are favoured to win which would lead them to the winner of Brazil or Uruguay in the semi-finals. And if Colombia can pull an unlikely tournament victory, Rodriguez will have played a starring role against the odds.