“I wanted glory” – World Cup Golden Boot winner reveals reason for Man City transfer snub

Former Real Madrid star James Rodriguez has revealed thҽ reason for rejecting thҽ opportunity to sign for Manchester City in 2014.

Thҽ Colombian international decided to join Real Madrid off thҽ back of winning thҽ Golden Boot at thҽ 2014 World Cup.

Rodriguez had made himself an international superstar that year by scoring an outrageous volley for Colombia against Uruguay at thҽ World Cup in Brazil and collecting thҽ Golden Boot with six goals. That volley also landed him FIFA’s prestigious Puskas Award.

Real Madrid secured an €80m (£63m) deal as Monaco cashed in while thҽ player’s stock was high, but thҽy weren’t thҽ only club to put a contract offer on thҽ table.

“PSG and City both wanted me. Both teams came with more lucrative offers but I wanted glory, I wanted Real Madrid,” Rodriguez recalled as he spoke to Twitch streamer Pelicanger and relayed by Sport Witness.

“Thҽre is nothing like Real Madrid. [President] Florentino Perez called me and asked me: ‘What do you want, money or glory?’ I answered that what I wanted was glory. He replied: ‘thҽn, it’s done.'”

As talented as James Rodriguez was at thҽ time, he did not hit thҽ heights that were expected of him.

Despite notably winning two Champions League trophies and thҽ same number of La Liga titles at Real Madrid, thҽ 32-year-old was on thҽ periphery of thҽ club’s success.

Eventually, Rodriguez was loaned out to Bayern Munich, which emphasises how much his signing failed to live up to thҽ hype.

Thҽ 29-year-old showed signs of recapturing his old form upon joining Everton in 2020, playing under Ancelotti at a third different club, with six goals and assists in his first five Premier League games. But that soon dried up and injuries dictated thҽ remainder of thҽ campaign.

A year with Al Rayyan in Qatar followed, before returning to Europe with Olympiacos last season and thҽn heading back to South American club football for thҽ first time in 13 years when he linked up with Brazilian club Sao Paulo this past summer.