Tim Cahill and Joao Virginia react as James Rodriguez bids Everton goodbye on Instagram
James Rodriguez has broken his Everton silence and expressed his gratitude to the club in a final tribute on his personal Instagram profile.
Everton announced on Wednesday that the 30-year-old had sealed a permanent exit to Qatari club Al Rayyan for an undisclosed fee.
The Colombia international waited until Thursday to say his goodbyes online.
He wrote: “I want to thank my teammates, who welcomed me well, I wish them the best and I also want to thank Everton fans. A pity not to have played in Goodison Park with you, it would have been very nice. I always tried to give my best and I always wanted to win, that is my mentality. I wish you all the best.”
Tim Cahill replied with three blue heart emojis while Blues goalkeeper Joao Virginia, currently on a season-long loan at Sporting Lisbon, wrote “mucha suerte panita”, loosely translating as “good luck little friend”.
Painful goodbye
Rodriguez is clearly frustrated that he never got to play in front of fans at Goodison Park, and that’s one of the most disappointing elements of his short reign with the club.
A player capable of lighting up any game, Rodriguez has the X-Factor that gets supporters on the edge of their seats, and that’s the sort of figure the fans have been crying out for.
Goodison would have been electric in the early weeks of the 2020/21 campaign as the Colombian weaved his magic in the Premier League.
Unfortunately, consistency was an attribute not found in his game, and fitness concerns started to crop up before the arrival of Rafa Benitez put paid to any hopes he may be reinvigorated this season.
Rodriguez is a player who has split opinion, but he is set to become a distant memory soon.
In other Everton news, Simon Jordan has claimed the Blues are ‘another Derby’ and will need Farhad Moshiri to bail them out.
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