James Rodríguez

• 1. The Boy From Ibagué

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  James David Rodríguez Rubio was born on the 12th of July 1991 in Cúcuta, Norte de Santander. He spent his childhood years in the city of Ibagué, Tolima. His father Wilson James Rodríguez Bedoya had been a footballer before him. The young boy started his professional career with Envigado in 2006. That year the club suffered relegation from the top flight. Yet he and Gio Moreno played key roles to help them secure promotion by winning the 2007 Primera B title on penalties. He became the second youngest Colombian player to start a professional match. His first game took place on the 21st of May 2006 at just 14 years old.

• 2. Banfield And European Eyes

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  In February 2008 Rodríguez was signed by Argentine team Banfield. He played a year with the club's youth teams before making his first team debut on the 7th of February 2009. This made him the youngest foreigner in Argentine football history. He scored his first goal for the club on the 27th of February with a long range strike in a 3, 1 victory over Rosario Central. At just 17 he became the youngest foreigner to score a goal in Argentina. His second goal came on the 26th of September when he struck into the top corner from outside the area. That 2, 1 win against Newell's Old Boys helped Banfield win the Argentine championship for the first time in the club's history. Daily sports website Diario Olé compared his playing style to Cristiano Ronaldo and nicknamed him the James Bond of Banfield.

• 3. Porto And The Golden Ball

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  On the 6th of July 2010 Rodríguez was signed by Porto for €5.1 million. He signed a four-year contract with a €30 million release clause. In November, Porto sold 35% economic rights to Gol Football Luxembourg for €2.5 million. On the 15th of December 2010 he scored his first competitive goal during a 3, 1 Europa League home victory against CSKA Sofia. He finished the 2010, 11 season with six goals and eight assists in 31 appearances. He took home four trophies including the league title and the Europa League title. In 2011 he won the LPFP Award for Breakthrough Player at age 20. This made him the first Colombian player to do so. He won the Portuguese Golden Ball award in 2012 becoming the second Colombian to win it after Radamel Falcao. He was also the youngest player ever to hold that honour.

• 4. The World Cup Goal Machine

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  On the 2nd of June 2014 Rodríguez was named in Colombia's 23-man squad for the FIFA World Cup. He wore the number 10 shirt assigned to him. In the team's opening match he set up the first two goals and scored a last-minute goal to seal a 3, 0 victory over Greece. He was named man of the match by FIFA. In the second match he continued his form by scoring with a header and setting up a second goal for Juan Fernando Quintero in a 2, 1 victory over Ivory Coast. On the 28th of June he scored both goals to defeat Uruguay 2, 0 at the Maracanã. These goals made him the first player to score in all of his team's opening matches since Ronaldo and Rivaldo in 2002. His volleyed opening goal against Uruguay was described as one of the greatest goals the World Cup has ever seen by opposing manager Óscar Tabárez. He received a standing ovation from the home crowd ending his campaign with six goals and two assists in five matches. He won the Golden Boot as the tournament's top goalscorer despite being eliminated in the quarter finals.

• 5. Real Madrid And The Loan

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  On the 22nd of July 2014 Rodríguez signed a six-year contract with Real Madrid for an undisclosed fee reported to be approximately £63 million. At the time this was the fourth-most expensive transfer in the world. It was also the most expensive Colombian after surpassing Radamel Falcao's €60 million transfer. He was greeted by a 45,000 attendance during his presentation. The Colombian ambassador carried a message from President Juan Manuel Santos stating that Rodríguez was changing the history of Colombian football. In 2017 he signed for German club Bayern Munich on a two-year loan deal. Bayern paid Real Madrid €13 million as a loan fee. He reunited with his old Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti. On the 18th of May 2019 he won his second Bundesliga title as Bayern finished two points above Dortmund. A week later he won his first DFB-Pokal as Bayern defeated RB Leipzig 3, 0. He appeared in 28 matches and scored seven goals in all competitions before returning to Real Madrid.

• 6. The Return To South America

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  In the summer of 2020 Rodríguez joined Premier League club Everton on a free transfer. He stayed there for one season before joining Qatar's Al-Rayyan and Greece's Olympiacos in 2021 and 2022 respectively. On the 29th of July 2023 Rodríguez returned to South America by joining Brazilian club São Paulo. This happened 13 years after leaving the continent. He made 14 appearances out of a possible 25 until an injury suffered in training left him out for the final three matches. His contract with São Paulo was terminated by mutual consent in July 2024. A month after his departure from São Paulo he returned briefly to Europe with Rayo Vallecano. In January 2025 he joined Mexican club León following his departure from Rayo. On the 11th of November 2025 León chairman Jesús Martínez Murguia announced he would not renew Rodríguez' contract.