However, one of Everton’s most talented players in recent years left under acrimonious circumstances.
Indeed, James Rodriguez left Everton under a dark cloud, and now, speaking to the club’s YouTube channel, the Colombian has opened up on his departure.
The midfielder admitted that he never wanted to leave Everton, but he was forced out by the manager, Rafa Benitez.
Rodriguez wasn’t happy about this situation, so much so that he couldn’t even bring himself to say Benitez’s name.
“Yes, I’ve spoken about this in interviews before and I didn’t want to leave the club. But the new manager had arrived, and we all know who that is, and he said that I wasn’t going to feature in his plans,” Rodriguez said.
“I never wanted to leave, that much is obvious. I felt I could’ve gone on to play another two or three seasons more at the club, but it’s plain to see that the manager said he wouldn’t be wanting me to be involved at all.”
“The supporters wanted me to stay, and so did I, but t
But in recent years, one of Everton’s most gifted players left under controversial circumstances.
James Rodriguez did, in fact, leave Everton under cloud nine. The Colombian has now addressed openly about his exit on the team’s YouTube page.
The midfield player said that Rafa Benitez, the manager, forced him to leave Everton even though he never wanted to.
Rodriguez was so unhappy with this state of affairs that he found it difficult to even utter Benitez’s name.
Yes, I have already said this in interviews, and I was reluctant to leave the club. However, the new manager—whom we all know—arrived and said that I would not be included in his plans, according to Rodriguez.
It’s clear that I never wanted to go. I thought I could have played for the team for two or three more seasons, but it’s obvious that the management stated he wouldn’t want me to be engaged in any way.
“The fans and I both wanted me to stay, but that’s football; the past is behind us. It was unfortunate because I felt like I could have accomplished more during my time at Everton Football Club.”
It’s unfortunate that a manager like Rafa Benitez drove a player of Rodriguez’s caliber of play out of Everton.
To put it plainly, Benitez’s tenure at Everton was disastrous, and among of his most contentious moves was firing Rodriguez.
Frank Lampard, of course, didn’t perform any better at Everton, but maybe he might have worked something out with Rodriguez. Lampard is, after all, a huge fan of an aggressive midfielder.
The way Rodriguez’s tenure at Everton ended is very unfortunate.
hat is just football for you, what happened then is all in the past, but it was a real shame because I believed I could’ve achieved more in my time at Everton Football Club.”
It’s such a shame that a player as talented as Rodriguez was hounded out of Everton by a manager like Rafa Benitez.
Simply put, Benitez’s time at Everton was a disaster, and getting rid of Rodriguez was one of his more controversial decisions.
Of course, Frank Lampard didn’t fare much better at Everton, but perhaps he could’ve got something out of Rodriguez. After all, Lampard loves an attacking midfield player.
It’s a real shame that Rodriguez’s time at Everton ended like this.
GET MORE NEWS HERE
Be the first to comment