James Rodríguez

James David Rodríguez Rubio (born 12 July 1991) is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club São Paulo and the Colombia national team.

He has been praised for his technique, vision, and playmaking skills, and was often considered the successor to his compatriot Carlos Valderrama.

Starting his career at Envigado, and then moving to Argentina side Banfield, James became well known in Europe during his time at Porto, winning several trophies and individual awards during his three years at the club.

James started his professional football career in 2006 with the Colombian second division club Envigado, with which he reached the Colombian first division through the 2007 promotion.

He became the second youngest Colombian player to start a professional match, playing his first match on 21 May 2006, at the age of 14.

In 2008, he was signed by Argentine team Banfield.

He made his first team debut on 7 February 2009, and scored his first goal for the club on 27 February with a long range strike in a 3–1 victory over Rosario Central.

He finished his first season with a goal in 11 appearances.

In 2009, he became a regular first-team player, featuring in every game of the Apertura 2009.

At just 17, he became the youngest foreigner to score a goal in Argentina.

His second goal for Banfield came on 26 September, when he scored with a strike into the top corner from outside of the area in an important 2–1 win against Newell's Old Boys, a victory that helped Banfield win the Argentine championship for the first time in the club's history.

In December 2009, Italian club Udinese planned to make a bid for James for a reported €5 million after the 2010 Copa Libertadores.

However, Banfield rejected the bid, labelling it as "insufficient".

For the Clausura 2010, on 13 February 2010, James scored a golazo in the match against archrivals Lanús with a left-footed lob to make the game 2–0 in the final minutes.

After the game, daily sports website Diario Olé compared his playing and personal style to Cristiano Ronaldo and nicknamed him the "James Bond of Banfield".

On 10 February 2010, James scored his first Copa Libertadores goal in a 2–1 home victory over Mexican club Monarcas Morelia.

James added to his glowing reputation a week later with a goal in a daunting victory over Copa Libertadores group rivals Deportivo Cuenca away from home, scoring the fourth goal of the 4–1 victory with a nice left-footed finish in the box.

His wonderful scoring season continued with a brace in the Copa Libertadores group match away to Uruguayan club Nacional on 10 March.

James scored first with a diving header and then from the penalty spot in a 2–2 draw.

The 18-year-old netted another goal against Brazilian club Internacional on 29 April 2010 in the first leg of the 2010 Copa Libertadores round 16, which Banfield won 3–1.

This goal brought his tally to five goals in seven games.

However, James' international season ended in defeat as his team went down on away goals with a 0–2 defeat in Porto Alegre in the second leg, in which James was red carded for two fouls.

On 6 July 2010, James was signed by Porto for €5.1 million, with 30% economic rights retained by other parties.

He signed a four-year contract with a €30 million release clause.

Porto later re-sold 10% economic rights to third parties.

On 18 July, he played his first game and scored his first goal in a friendly against Ajax.

In November, Porto sold 35% economic rights (half of 70%) to Gol Football Luxembourg, S.A.R.L. for €2.5 million.

On 15 December 2010, James scored his first competitive goal during a 3–1 Europa League home victory against Bulgarian club CSKA Sofia.

James started his international career with the Colombia under-20 team, with which he won the 2011 Toulon Tournament.

He then captained the U-20 team during the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

Due to his performance in the tournament, he was regularly called into the senior squad by the age of 20.

In 2014, James moved from AS Monaco to Real Madrid for a transfer fee of £63 million, beating Radamel Falcao as the most expensive Colombian football player and one of the most expensive players at the time.

In his debut season, he was named in the La Liga Team of the Season and won La Liga Best Midfielder.

He played in the 2014 and 2018 FIFA World Cup, winning the Golden Boot in 2014 and being included in the Cup's All Star Team.

He also represented his nation at the 2015 Copa América, the Copa América Centenario in 2016, and the 2019 Copa América, winning a third-place medal in 2016.

Born in Cúcuta, Norte de Santander, James spent his childhood in the city of Ibagué, Tolima.

He was born to ex-footballer Wilson James Rodríguez Bedoya and Maria Del Pilar Rubio.

In 2017, he signed for German club Bayern Munich on a two-year loan deal.

In the summer of 2020, he signed for Premier League club Everton on a free transfer, staying there for one season before joining Qatar's Al-Rayyan and Greece's Olympiacos in 2021 and 2022, respectively.

In 2023, 13 years after leaving South America, he returned to the continent by joining Brazilian club São Paulo.