James Rodríguez,

now at Everton, looked back and revealed that he was about to sign for Atlético when he left Bayern in June 2019. However, despite the fact that the deal was almost closed, Real Madrid did not allow his departure and returned to the Santiago Bernabéu.

"Last year at Real Madrid I played little. When I decided to leave Bayern Munich I already had something with another club, it was practically done, but Real Madrid did not want to let me leave," he confessed in an interview with ESPN in which he confirmed that that club was Atlético de Madrid.

The midfielder assured that he even had conversations with

Diego Pablo Simeone

, who told him that "he was a super important player, that he could play with him and that he had seen that he was fine."

"I told him that well, I was ready," he continued, "but all this happened and Real Madrid did not let me leave."

"At Everton I have been at a good level"

Regarding his time at the merengue team, he acknowledged that with

Zinedine Zidane he

knew that "he was not going to play much" and he accepted that it was not a good year.

"Now that I am with Everton I wanted to come and play, I wanted to come to show that I am intact and I think that when I have done things well, when I have played well, I think I have been at a good level," he said.

The Colombian did not hold back the praise for the new Colombian coach,

Reinaldo Rueda

, who he said "is a great guy, a great person and a great coach."

"We have to help him, those of us who have been there for a long time, so that everything becomes much easier for him," he said.

The footballer said that in the Colombian team "there is quality" to "go to the World Cup and win the Copa América."

"The players in Colombia are trained for all that, but you have to believe in all these things. There is a lot of quality," he said.

"This generation we deserve to reach a final and be able to win it. We have been close and something is always missing, we must prepare for all that."

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

  • Real Madrid

  • Colombia National Soccer Team

  • Atlético de Madrid

  • sports

  • James Rodriguez

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