‘I never wanted to leave Everton – but I knew the manager didn’t need me there’

James Rodriguez has fired a fresh shot at Rafael Benitez over his Everton exit.

The former Real Madrid superstar joined the Toffees in 2020 after his contract with the Spanish giants expired, reuniting with his old boss Carlo Ancelotti. Rodriguez had been sidelined towards the end of his time at Madrid but his arrival was still a major coup for Everton, marking the third time Ancelotti had signed the Colombian in his career.

The talismanic midfielder was an instant hit and brought the best out of Ancelotti’s team, who were second in the table on Boxing Day – but Rodriguez later suffered injuries as Everton slipped to 10th. In the summer, Ancelotti was tempted back to the Bernabeu, leading to the bizarre appointment of Liverpool legend Benitez. For Rodriguez, it not only meant losing his mentor but also reigniting his Real Madrid feud with Benitez, who made it clear that the midfielder had no future at the club.

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“Yes, I’ve spoken about this in interviews before and I didn’t want to leave the club either, but the new manager had arrived, and we all know who that is, and he said I wasn’t going to feature in his plans,” Rodriguez revealed in a recent interview with Everton.

“I never wanted to leave, that much is obvious. I felt that I could have gone on to play two or three seasons at the club. But it’s plain to see that the manager said that he wouldn’t be wanting me involved at all.

“The supporters wanted me to stay and so did I. But in the end, that’s just football for you. What happened then is now in the past but it was a real shame because I believed that I could have gone on to achieve more in my time at Everton. I feel like I could have brought more happiness to all the fans.”

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Despite some star displays for the Toffees, Rodriguez played all his games behind closed doors and was robbed of the chance to dazzle the Everton fans at Goodison before leaving for Qatari outfit Al-Rayyan. Less than four months later, Benitez was sacked and replaced by Frank Lampard.

At 33, Rodriguez has regained his place as Colombia captain – scoring in his country’s win over Argentina on Tuesday – and signed for La Liga side Rayo Valecano this summer, via spells at Olympiacos and Sao Paulo. However, he looks back fondly on his year at Everton – and still wonders what could have been.

“I would have absolutely loved to have played in front of the fans but from what I’ve seen on social media, I can tell that they have a lot of affection for me, which means that I must have performed pretty well there,” he said. “I think I displayed a decent level of form that season, we started off the Premier League campaign very well, I think it had been the best start to a season that Everton had enjoyed in a long time.

“I was always happy because in spite of not having them close by, I could always feel the love and affection from all those fans. It was a short spell, but the time I was there made a great impression on both myself and my family too.”