May 24th, 2013 - James Rodriguez joins AS Monaco for £35 million pounds. July 22nd, 2014 - James Rodriguez joins Real Madrid for a potential £71 million. It was an extraordinary year for the worlds most expensive Columbian, having racked up fees of gargantuan enormity before his 24th birthday. While his season in Ligue 1 was solid, if unspectacular, it was at the World Cup where the 23 year old attacking midfielder really shone, bagging the FIFA World Cup Golden Boot as his nation reached the quarter-finals. However, despite professing his love and admiration for the Spanish giants upon his return from international duty, nobody really expected the Champions League winners to delve into the market for another big-money attacker - especially considering they already had Gareth Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo and Angel Di Maria on their books. Within a few weeks of his declaration, however, the moneybags in France had sold one of their prized assets, with Rodriguez penning a six-year contract at the Bernabeu, making him the fourth most expensive player in footballing history.
''I am very happy, this is a dream come true. I hope to make people very happy and win a lot of titles here. - James Rodriguez, July 2014.
Rodriguez would be greeted by an attendance of 45,000 upon his presentation, and 48 hours after his unveiling, a record 345,000 of his replica shirts were reported to have been sold. The pressure is on, James.
Recent Journalism & New Media graduate. Insatiable thirst for all things football, and hopes to break into the field of sports journalism in the near future.
Have made a significantly insignificant playing career out of receiving several slaps around the head for not passing the ball.
