James Rodríguez remains linked to São Paulo despite his desire to leave. The economic differences to terminate the contract have become a thorn in the side for the Brazilian club, which is looking for a way to agree on a friendly end to the Colombian’s time at Morumbí.
In that sense, James has no choice but to continue training at the Barra Funda sports headquarters, waiting for the go-ahead to be able to leave with his pass, something he already did in his recent journeys through Qatar and Greece.
Images published on Monday from training in São Paulo show the Colombian working with the rest of his teammates, with whom he has a great relationship despite the delicate moment he is going through in relation to the leadership and Thiago Carpini’s coaching staff.
“Mediocre little player”: Neto on James
The novel about James Rodríguez has become a main topic on the agenda of the Brazilian media. Some support him based on the physical condition that he showed with the Colombian National Team in the South American qualifiers, while others criticize the fact that he is going to leave without fulfilling the contract that he has signed until mid-2025.
One of the Colombian’s main detractors is José Ferreira Neto, a former player for several clubs in Brazil and now host of the program Os donos da pelota (The Owners of the Ball), which is broadcast on the national channel Rede Bandeirantes.
During a segment in which they talked about the negotiations to finalize his departure, Neto took the floor and launched several qualifiers against James, whom he classified as “a mediocre little player” who lives off what he did in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
“The biggest mistake in the history of São Paulo in terms of hiring,” launched the former soccer player who also played for Millonarios in 1993.
For the now presenter, James is a “mediocre little player” who “had a great World Cup and everyone considers him a star player” for being the top scorer in the World Cup in which Colombia had its best performance in history, reaching the quarterfinals.
“He doesn’t clean my boots, Djalminha’s, Alex’s, Zenon’s, Pita’s… ‘But he played in a World Cup.’ Yes, he did it with Colombia and everyone here talks about James Rodríguez. It is a shame that he wore the shirt of one of the biggest clubs in the world,” he stated.
“In the 2014 World Cup I played a lot. But at Real Madrid he didn’t play at all, at Bayern München he didn’t play at all, he went to Everton and didn’t play at all, he went to Al Rayyan and didn’t play at all, at Olympiakos he didn’t play at all. Now, São Paulo hired him because they say that he is going to play here, at 32 years old,” he warned in the month of October.
Neto, who also played as a hooker between the eighties and nineties, considers that his game was much better than that of the star of the Colombian National Team. “For the love of God! If you look at what James Rodríguez played and compare it to me, it is an insult to Brazilian football,” he concluded.