The Football Nomad: All Clubs James Rodriguez Has Played for After Joining Sao Paolo

• James Rodriguez is set to join the 10th club of his career after his latest contract was ripped up
• The 2014 World Cup star has developed a reputation as the classic football nomad
• He has played for big clubs including Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Everton in his prime

The sport of football is no stranger to players who have a tendency to switch clubs every so often.

One such player is Sweden legend Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who over the years earned the reputation of being a footballing nomad.

For Zlatan, however, he always seemed to move to clubs that were fairly reputable, and his impact was felt nearly every club he played for.

Then, there is James Rodriguez, the 2014 World Cup sensation who made a name for himself nearly a decade ago, only to fall off a couple of years later.

The Top 10 Greatest Inter Milan Legends of All Time Ranked

Football

As reported on The Sun, Rodriguez is now set to join one of Brazil’s most successful teams Sao Paolo, which will be the tenth club of his career.

This comes after a seven-month stint with Greek outfit Olympiakos, where he failed to hit the heights he once did.

As per Transfermkt, the Colombian, 32, scored five goals in 23 appearances before his contract was ripped up.

Since Sao Paolo is his 10th club, Sports Brief takes a look at all the teams he has played for:

1. Envigado

Rodriguez, who is the son of a footballer, started his career at Envigado, a second division club in his native Colombia.

2. Banfield

Aged 17, Rodriguez was signed by Argentine club Banfield in 2008, but he made his debut for the club in 2009.

3. Porto

After a successful stint at Banfield, Rodriguez eventually joined FC Porto in Portugal for a fee of €5.1 million, and it was here that his name started making waves in the football world.

A list of players who played for Inter Milan and AC Milan

Football

After three years with the Portuguese giants, FC Monaco came calling.

4. Monaco

Now considered one of the most promising young players in world football, Rodriguez joined Monaco in 2013 for a reported fee of €45 million. French media went on to dub him the “best player in Ligue 1 because of his impressive first season with the club.

5. Real Madrid

After an impressive debut season with Monaco and a stellar World Cup campaign with Colombia, Real Madrid took up the midfielder’s services on July 22 2014.

The transfer fee of £63 million at the time made him the fourth most expensive player in the world.

After a La Liga title and several Champions League titles, Rodriguez started falling out of favour at Real Madrid, and was eventually loaned out to Bayern Munich. At this point, however, he was still fairly ranked in the transfer market.

FC Porto legends: Top 10 all-time greats for the Dragons

Football

6. Bayern Munich

The Colombian spent two seasons on loan at Bayern Munich, who were somehow unwilling to make his transfer permanent.

He made his return to Real Madrid and won the 2019-20 La Liga with the club, despite making minimal appearances for Los Blancos.

7. Everton

In 2020, Rodriguez joined Everton on a free transfer from Real Madrid on a two-year deal.

However, this was the beginning of the end of the prime Colombian fans came to know and love as injuries played a huge factor in his inconsistency at Merseyside.

Everton eventually parted ways with the midfielder in 2021.

8. Al Rayyan

In 2021, he joined Rayyan in the Qatar top flight, but his contract was terminated a year later on October 2022 by mutual consent.

9. Olympiakos

He was handed a lifeline in Europe once again by joining Greek side Olympiakos on a free transfer.

Here are the 15 times Ronaldinho shocked the football world

Football

But once again, like his spell witth Al Rayyan, Olympiakos also decided to terminate his contract.

10. Sao Paolo

It is unlikely Rodriguez will play in Europe again, as his football adventures have now taken him to the Brazilian top flight.

Man United agree deal for striker

Sports Brief also reported on how Manchester United agreed a fee to sign talented Denmark striker Rasmus Hojlund.

The Red Devils have been on the hunt for a top striker, and were heavily linked with Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane.

However, Hojlund was also on Ten Hag’s radar, and it seems the gaffer has finally landed his man as the two clubs agreed on a £72m transfer fee.