Seventh club since 2020 

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He is the biggest signing in club history, at least by name recognition. Last week, Minnesota United announced that they have added Colombian superstar James Rodríguez to the squad. The 34-year-old joined the Loons on a free transfer and has signed a contract through June 30, 2026, with a club option until the end of the 2026 Major League Soccer season. James will not be a Designated Player and will earn just $250,000 while playing for Minnesota United. The Colombian, in fact, was desperate to find a club to play for in the buildup to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and was offered to several MLS clubs.

An elegant playmaker with an incredible track record for his country, James has struggled to replicate that success at club level. After playing for European giants Real Madrid and Bayern, James bounced around several clubs, turning out for Everton, Al-Rayyan, Olympiacos, São Paulo, Rayo Vallecano, and León. Minnesota United have become the seventh club since 2020. But since graduating from the Banfield academy, James has remained prolific, scoring 127 goals and 161 assists in 516 club games. Although his market value has dropped to just €2m, at his peak the Colombian reached €80m twice—in 2015 at Real Madrid and in 2018 at Bayern—making him the player with the highest historical market value in Minnesota United history.

James to Minnesota United: “It is fantastic for the club”

Now, the United States becomes the latest stop in his colorful career. And without a doubt, his arrival has caused an incredible buzz in Minnesota. “Minnesota United have never before been in the market for a player like him,” Minnesota United head coach Cameron Knowles said to Transfermarkt. “On the first call, we listened to the desire from him and his camp, and you start to think: ‘Man, this might have legs in it.’ Then it is just more conversations within the club as it gets closer.” A big part of the story was the deal’s structure. With James willing to make sacrifices regarding his salary, Minnesota were able to fit the Colombian into their salary cap structure. “It is fantastic for the club that we got this across the line,” Knowles said.

Knowles will now have to make James fit into his system. “The first thing is we’ve got to get him in and train,” Knowles said when asked about the next steps. “He’s in a situation that many of our guys were in four weeks ago, where they hadn’t played a game since November. So, we must see where he is. We have a great medical staff, a fantastic performance staff, and we just must see where he is and see how we can integrate him.” Then Knowles acknowledges that he won’t change his setup too much to integrate James. “I think the most important thing is that we continue on the path that we have been on,” Knowles said. “The guys have put in four weeks of incredibly hard work. And then there is still time until he can play. There’s a visa, there’s fitness, there’s things that come into play. We don’t want to jump the gun, we, you know, we haven’t had them in a single training session yet, you know. So, it’s far too soon to say what that looks like.”

Perhaps Knowles is right to be a bit cautious about James’ integration in the squad. After all, there is a reason why the Colombian has bounced around seven clubs since leaving Real Madrid on a free transfer for Everton in 2020. That signing at the time was almost as sensational as his arrival in Minnesota last week. Indeed, wherever James arrived, he was greeted with incredible excitement. But, for one reason or another, James struggled long-term to meet the incredible expectations placed on him. And it wasn’t always his fault.

James at Everton: Struggled with the physicality of the Premier League

“When James Rodriguez signed for Everton on a free transfer from Real Madrid, it was met with huge excitement from not just Everton fans, but supporters of the Premier League,” Transfermarkt Content Manager UK, Benjamin Littlemore, said. “English fans remembered his stardust from the 2014 World Cup, and a player of this calibre going to Goodison Park to join his former Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti was something of a fairytale for the Toffees faithful. He started very well, with six goal contributions in his first five Premier League games.”

Overall, James’ lack of success in the Premier League wasn’t entirely his fault either. “His overall numbers of six goals and five assists in 23 games weren’t bad either, but his interest seemed to soon fade, and a combination of injuries and struggling to adapt to the physicality of the Premier League meant his stay in Merseyside was short,” Littlemore said. “His period at Goodison is still looked back on with some fondness, though—just to have had a player of his quality, even if it didn’t quite work out, was a boast.” As has often been the case over the last few years, this was also a very chaotic time for Everton, and perhaps James never stood a chance of succeeding in England.

It also needs to be added. James wasn’t even supposed to go to Everton. Instead, he was on the verge of joining Atlético Madrid in the summer of 2020. “He had signed for Atlético Madrid, but after Real Madrid lost 3-7 to them in New Jersey in the summer of 2019, and Florentino Pérez didn’t allow him to go there,” Transfermarkt Content Manager Spain Iván Fuente said. “Perhaps that was the beginning of his fall? Everything was agreed upon, but not signed at the time. Following the friendly defeat, Florentino Pérez said that James would not be sold. He had to stay at Real even though head coach Zinedine Zidane did not want him.” One year later, he moved on to Everton, but it wouldn’t be his final chapter in Spain. More on that in a moment.

James Rodríguez at Al-Rayyan: “Life and culture in Qatar is very difficult”

After his time at Everton, James Rodríguez joined Al-Rayyan in September 2021 for a moderate fee of €8 million. He became one of the most expensive signings in the club’s history and the second-most valuable player ever to join the league, quickly being labelled a major coup ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which was hosted by Qatar. “His performances were initially solid but ultimately perceived as mixed,” Transfermarkt Area Manager Asia, Tiberius Radziejewski, said.

So, what went wrong in Qatar? “His stint was overshadowed by two key factors,” Radziejewski said. “First, he received a red card after aggressively protesting a yellow card decision. Following his one-match suspension, he scored regularly, though the team remained close to the bottom of the table. Second, his final months in Qatar were particularly disappointing, as injuries – largely anticipated given his history—limited his availability and resulted in zero appearances in the AFC Champions League. Later, he publicly expressed his desire to leave and flirted with Valencia on Spanish TV.” If Valencia calls me, I will even walk there from Qatar,” James said. “I would take a pay cut.”

Naturally, that didn’t go over well in Qatar. “It sparked the hashtag “#Al-RayyanIsBiggerThanJames” among fans demanding his departure,” Radziejewski said. “After featuring in only one match during the final six months of his one-year spell, Al-Rayyan terminated his contract by mutual consent in September 2022.” In total, he made 16 appearances for the club, recording five goals and seven assists. In December 2025, James reflected on his time in Qatar. “Life and culture in Qatar are very difficult; it was a country where it was hard to adapt. I was scared.”

James at Olympiacos: “It never felt like a match”

Up next came a move to Greece, where James joined giants Olympiacos. “Despite scoring five goals and six assists in 23 games during his seven months in Greece, it never really felt like a match,” Transfermarkt Area Manager Greece, Nikos Sofis, said. “Although he was a starter in most of the league games, he also managed to play the full 90 minutes once. It just never really felt like he was going to fit in.”

Then, Spanish outlet Marca released a story with the background on why James’ time at Olympiacos was short-lived. According to that report, the initial breaking point came when he was substituted against Panathinaikos, causing not only tension with then-manager Jose Anigo but also with him and his teammates. “That match against Panathinaikos was also his last match for Olympiacos,” Nikos said. James himself said later: “I don’t regret what I did, because there are things you shouldn’t regret, especially when they don’t treat you well or take you seriously or don’t appreciate what you’ve done.”

James at São Paulo: “A short and unremarkable spell”

“James Rodríguez had a short and unremarkable spell at São Paulo,” Transfermarkt Area Manager Brazil, Marcos Watts, said. “James arrived at the club in July 2023 as a star signing and with high expectations, but the Colombian never managed to establish himself as a starter. James played just 22 games, scoring two goals and providing four assists before leaving the club just over a year later.

“During his time at São Paulo, Rodríguez faced problems with adaptation, consistency, physical issues, and a lack of opportunities—a factor that the player himself pointed to as the main reason for his failure to succeed at the club,” Watts said. “Despite being part of the 2023 Copa do Brasil title squad, he had virtually no involvement in decisive moments and ended up terminating his contract in August 2024, ending a spell marked by disagreements, controversies, and below-par performances.”

Overall, there is now a sense of disappointment in Brazil over his time at São Paulo. “The bitter feeling left for São Paulo supporters is that James never really gave his all for the club, but chose to focus on the Colombian National Team, where he had a guaranteed place in the starting XI. Despite showing occasional flashes of brilliance, the player never truly convinced anyone at the club that he was the star many expected him to be, enduring a year of complete disappointment for both sides.

James: A brief return Spain ends in controversy

After a brief spell in Brazil, James returned to Spain, joining Rayo Vallecano in August 2024. “While another Colombian, Falcao, managed to find his place at Rayo, James never connected with the club, the fans, or the coach,” Spain expert Fuéntes said. “Things started badly, with him not even being officially presented. He only played seven games, in which he provided just one assist.”

“Rumors circulated that the coach did not count on him and did not like his lack of discipline in training,” Fuentes said. “James did not help matters by questioning the quality of his teammates in an interview. Following an interview with Marca, the club and the player agreed not to play him again until a solution was found.” That solution was yet another transfer; this time, he was off to Mexico.

James in Mexico: “The most decisive player” at Club León

After half a season in Spain, James moved back across the Atlantic, joining Liga MX side Club León on a free transfer. And it looked like he would finally regain his form. “James Rodríguez’s spell at León never fully depended on volume, but on impact,” Transfermarkt Area Manager Mexico, Osvaldo González Camacho, said. “Despite playing only around 64% of the available minutes in the last tournament (Apertura 25/26), and roughly 2,600 minutes playing for Club León in total, he still finished as the team’s most decisive player, delivering five goals and nine assists across 34 matches.”

That translates into a goal contribution roughly every two games, a strong return considering he rarely completed full 90-minute workloads. “Physically, he was managed carefully, often rotated and protected, yet whenever he was on the pitch León’s attack clearly revolved around him: tempo, final pass and set-piece responsibility all flowed through the Colombian,” Camacho said.

So why did he end up leaving? “The project lost direction when León was removed from the Club World Cup after the CAS ruling,” Camacho said. “The squad had been built around that tournament, and the relationship between expectations and reality fractured quickly. Even so, James maintained influence in phases of the season; he was less explosive than in his prime, but more strategic: fewer sprints, more pauses, positioning, and decision-making.” But with León failing to deliver on promises, James decided to once again look for a new adventure.

An odyssey: James Rodríguez always “prioritized” Colombia

It has been quite an odyssey for the Colombian. Ultimately, the playmaker has jumped from one club to another to prolong his national team career. “James Rodríguez has always prioritized the Colombian national team,” Transfermarkt Area Manager Colombia, Samuel Vázques Rivas, said. “With the exception of Reinaldo Rueda, who sat him out for a few matches in 2021, James was always supported by every national team coach.”

What stands out is the discrepancy between James, the national team player, and the James that we have seen in club football. “At club level, James has had strained relationships with coaches and management, which explains his quick departures from several clubs, including Al-Rayyan, Olympiacos, São Paulo, and Rayo Vallecano,” Vazquez said. “He is a controversial player who doesn’t easily adapt to the club environment, so his presence can sometimes be unsettling. That started long before Everton, as he had difficult relationships at AS Monaco, Real Madrid, and Bayern Munich. In Germany, for example, the weather was a determining factor in his departure, which makes his signing with Minnesota seem curious.”

Despite that, Minnesota feel confident that they will benefit from the signing. “It is a fantastic signing for the club, the opportunity and exposure it brings to the club and all the players on the field, there is going to be a lot more eyes on our games, and that is a positive sign,” Knowles said. Without a doubt, that is true, and that can be beneficial. Like the Vancouver Whitecaps with Thomas Müller last summer, the Loons never had a high-profile player at the club. Müller’s arrival in Vancouver transformed the Whitecaps overnight, giving them attention on and off the pitch. Minnesota are hopeful they can achieve a similar impact with the Colombian star. Without a doubt, it is an exciting time for the club and the passionate fans at the Allianz Field, and perhaps James can give them the sort of magic we see from him all the time when he plays for Colombia.