James Rodriguez has joined Qatari club Al Rayyan from Everton.
The midfielder fell out of contention for a place in the Toffees team this season after Rafael Benitez took over as coach.
James travelled to Qatar this week to hold talks with the team coached by ex-France coach Laurent Blanc and has reached an agreement with the club.
What has been said?
Al Rayyan teased the signing of the 30-year-old on Wednesday by sharing a video about an imminent new arrival on social media.
The club then confirmed the deal with a video welcoming the Colombian star to the club.
Bienvenido
— AlRayyanSC (@AlrayyanSC) September 22, 2021
Welcome
مرحبًا @jamesdrodriguez pic.twitter.com/Als0VqEqxD
How did James perform at Everton?
The Colombia international moved to Goodison Park from Real Madrid in 2020.
The move to the Premier League saw him unite with Carlo Ancelotti for the third time, having already played under the Italian coach at Madrid and Bayern Munich.
James made a promising start to life at the Merseyside club, scoring three goals across his first four matches in the English top-flight.
But the former Monaco and Porto star struggled with calf problems over the course of the season and was limited to 26 appearances in all competitions in 2020-21.
He has not made a single appearance for Benitez's team this season and had been looking to organise a transfer ahead of the current campaign.
Coach Benitez admitted the club had been trying to offload him but would not rule out the midfielder making his way back into the team if no move materialised.
Further reading
- What now for Loftus-Cheek, Barkley and Chelsea's lost boys?
- Messi was a tyrant in training - Koeman
- Patino primed for pro debut after wowing Arsenal stars
