James Rodriguez completes moves to Qatar side Al-Rayyan as Everton get rid of the Colombian’s £200,000-a-week wages
- James Rodriguez is on the verge of being confirmed as an Al-Rayyan player
- The Colombian is set to end his nightmare spell at Premier League side Everton
- The Toffees are set to get James’ £200,000 a week wages off their finance bill
- Qatari side Al-Rayyan teased the midfielder’s signing on Twitter on Wednesday
Al-Rayyan have completed their swoop for James Rodriguez with the Everton star swapping Merseyside for the Middle East after one year in England.
The Qatari side, coached by former France and Manchester United defender Laurent Blanc, confirmed the signing of their new recruit on social media with a 15-second clip alongside the caption: ‘Welcome @jamesrodriguez’.
James travelled to the Middle East for talks on Sunday after initially being reluctant to make the move to the Qatari Stars League.
Everton outcast James Rodriguez has been confirmed as a new signing for Al-Rayyan
The Colombian (right) is out of favour at Goodison Park and has not featured yet this season
Everton have been keen to offload his £220,000 a week wages to alleviate their Financial FairPlay concerns and he has been informed he does not figure in the plans of manager Rafa Benitez.
Al Rayyan had proposed a loan deal initially after proposed moves to former club Porto and Turkish side Basaksehir fell through.
Talks over the structure of the transfer and payment have been finalised after the 30-year old Colombian was convinced it was his best opportunity of playing regular football over the coming months.
Rafa Benitez (above) informed James at the start of the campaign that he is not in his plans
Rodriguez arrived at Goodison Park 12 months ago from Real Madrid to link up with former Los Blancos boss Carlo Ancelotti, with the signing creating great excitement amongst Toffees supporters.
A great start to life at Everton saw the Colombian score three goals and register three assists in his first six Premier League games, but his debut campaign in England was ruined from then on by calf injuries and inconsistent form.
Benitez replaced Ancelotti, who returned to former club Real, earlier this summer and the Spanish coach gave Rodriguez a chance to prove his worth in pre-season.
Despite some appearances, the midfielder was informed by Benitez that he was no longer required on Merseyside and has been searching for a new club since the start of the Premier League season.
Rodriguez’s Toffees career started brightly but is now surplus to requirements on Merseyside
Benitez refused to call up Rodriguez to Saturday’s 3-0 defeat away at Aston Villa, even though the Everton boss only named eight substitutes instead of the nine allowed in a matchday squad, with the Toffees currently in an injury crisis.
Sportsmail revealed last month that the 30-year-old was offered in a swap deal with FC Porto’s winger Luis Diaz, but a move for either Colombian player failed to go through.
Rodriguez’s overall Everton record saw him score six goals in 26 matches, registering nine assists in his only season at Goodison Park.
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