He reportedly requested to terminate his contract with the São Paulo club, which is likely to facilitate the process without major difficulties.
Follow this brief passage of the player’s time in Brazilian football.
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Written by Vitor F L Miller.
Index
James Rodriguez’s time at São Paulo
The São Paulo team and fans are experiencing an unprecedented honeymoon period.
If in not so distant times the capital team accumulated failures, having gone 10 years without winning a significant title, this has quickly become a thing of the past.
It all starts with the victory in the 2021 São Paulo Championship, boosting morale and the taste of victory once again, essential for a winning team like Tricolor.
Two years later, in 2023, redemption. An unprecedented victory in the Copa do Brasil title.
The present year starts in an extremely positive manner. Winning the Supercopa do Brasil title against Palmeiras, imposing a streak of victories over the opponent.
With this title, São Paulo becomes champions of all tournaments they are or have been eligible to compete in. A historic achievement.
This is all under the command of the young coach Tiago Carpini, who replaced Dorival Jr, now the coach of the Brazilian National Team.
The good performance continues in the 2024 São Paulo Championship. Ten points collected in four games, potentially becoming the leader if they win the remaining match.
Apparently, the only one not in tune with this great moment is James Rodriguez.
The Colombian arrived at Morumbis in August and made his debut on the 13th of the same month against Flamengo.
From the start, his physical condition was treated with great caution. Therefore, in his 14 games with the Tricolor jersey, the midfielder played ninety minutes on the field only once.
Furthermore, he scored only one goal and provided three assists.
He participated in decisive moments, but in a negative way. In the match for the quarterfinals of the Copa Sudamericana, James missed the penalty that sealed São Paulo’s elimination against LDU, in Morumbis.
Also, in the match against Fortaleza, where he scored his only goal, he missed another penalty and São Paulo was defeated 2-1. In other words, just for comparison, James has missed more penalties than goals for Tricolor Paulista.
Imagem: Gustavo Motta/Pera Photo Press/Gazeta Press
The reason and terms of departure
There’s no arguing with facts. The truth is that James Rodriguez arrived with the status of a star player but didn’t prove it on the field.
Moreover, he seemed not to meet the necessary requirements to even be on the pitch.
After five games this year, the Colombian didn’t play a single minute. He wasn’t even registered for the São Paulo Championship.
São Paulo reportedly stated that James was taking care of his physical condition and was doing workload control work.
The mentioned portal also pointed out that Rodriguez denies this situation and that his physical condition would be fit for play.
Furthermore, it’s reported in an article that the midfielder would have confided to close people that there was a debt between him and São Paulo.
All these points, confirmed or not, generated great tension between the parties.
The tipping point would have been James Rodriguez’s possible departure, in the middle of a training session, after having been eventually selected for a certain position by Carpini. This incident has not been confirmed by any of the involved parties.
In any case, the player has already trained separately today (February 7, 2024).
The desire to leave the club has also been expressed to the management, which is unlikely to obstruct the process.
GE also reported that the player would have proposed an amicable termination.
At this moment, both parties are considering the best way to end the relationship.
Do you believe James will be able to return to playing at a high level? And who should São Paulo seek in the market to replace him?
