Under the ownership of controversial tycoon Fahrad Moshiri, Everton has developed a notoriously unwanted reputation as one of the country's worst-run clubs.
This is mainly attributed to their managerial merry-go-round and a series of inexplicably poor transfers that have left the club in monstrous debt and having ever lacked a strong spine on the pitch.
However, one signing that at the time was deemed a masterstroke was the unbelievable coup of James Rodriguez in the summer of 2020 from Real Madrid. The 31-year-old began his career in England in electric form, but the honeymoon quickly soured in yet another transfer flop for the Toffees.
Where is James Rodriguez now?
The 90-cap international rose to worldwide fame and stardom thanks to his ridiculous 2014 World Cup campaign. The imperious playmaker was in unstoppable form in Brazil and registered eight goal contributions in five matches, and received the Golden Boot as the tournament's top goalscorer.
The attacker narrowly missed out on the Golden Ball award as he came second to Lionel Messi, but even Argentine legend Diego Maradona argued that the Colombian was more deserving of the title than his counterpart.
This earnt the midfielder a £63m move to Real Madrid, where he was tipped to continue his exponential rise as one of the globe’s most elite technicians.
But, his time in Spain was blighted by injury and inconsistency, and in his final season at Los Blancos, he only managed 14 appearances in all competitions and was deemed surplus to requirements.
Nevertheless, the then 29-year-old still remained a joyous prospect, just a player enveloped and overwhelmed by the humongous expectation of the Santiago Bernabeu faithful. So when Everton secured his services it sent shockwaves across the blue sections of Merseyside and a chance for the gift to revive his stuttering career.
Rodriguez began his debut season in England in formidable fashion, recording six goal contributions in his first six outings.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin heaped praise on the new signing in his early in the North West and said:
“He’s a top, top player. He’s a different level, he dictates games.”
But, the artist failed to appear in 15 of Everton’s Premier League matches and cut a frustrated, unmotivated, and anonymous figure by the end of the season.
Upon Carlo Ancelotti’s departure from the Toffees, Rafa Benitez was appointed as the new manager, but the Spaniard failed to develop any kind of rapport with Rodriguez, who swiftly left for Qatar.
A stint at Olympiacos then followed, but the former Monaco prodigy had his contract terminated with the Greek giant, to leave one of the world’s most revered forces in grave danger of slowly petering into irrelevancy. Irrespective of his quality, perhaps Everton let him go at just the perfect time.