São Paulo uses patience to hire James Rodríguez – 07/31/2023 – Sport

São Paulo tried for more than a month to close with James Rodríguez, 32. Hiring with the biggest impact on the club since the arrival of Daniel Alves, in 2019, the Colombian landed at Guarulhos International Airport on the night of this Sunday (30).

He signed a contract until June 2025. About 200 fans were waiting for him to arrive in the lobby. As soon as he got off the chartered flight that took him from Medellín to Brazil, he was greeted by club president Julio Casares.

São Paulo started negotiating with Rodríguez in May, when the football director, Rui Costa, heard that it would be possible to talk to the midfielder who played in the 2014 and 2018 World Cups for Colombia. The player had been waiting for a new offer from Europe since he was without a contract with Olympiacos, from Greece.

His idea was, if he signed with São Paulo, to have a shorter-term agreement, perhaps until the end of this year. This was not in the interest of the Brazilian team, which signaled the possibility of qualifying for the 2024 Libertadores, a competition that the athlete never played.

The salary, of R$ 1 million per month, tax-free, will be the highest of the cast and a little higher than the R$ 800,000 received by Jonathan Calleri. But São Paulo didn’t spend anything to hire him. The Argentine cost US$ 3 million (R$ 14.2 million at current prices).

It is unclear when Rodríguez will be able to debut. He has not played since March, but São Paulo will have decisive matches in August for the knockout rounds of the Copa Sudamericana and the Copa do Brasil. For the continental tournament, he will play two games against San Lorenzo-ARG, in the round of 16. It will also face Corinthians in the second leg of the semifinal of the national competition.

São Paulo relied on a series of factors and influences to hire the midfielder who went through Real Madrid-ESP and Bayern Munich-ALE. Rafinha, Rodríguez’s colleague in Germany, talked to the Colombian about Brazilian football and what he would find at Morumbi. Dorival also spoke with the cast to get a feel for the environment before being hired.

Part of the income from matches in which Morumbi received good attendance, such as against Tolima-COL and Palmeiras, was used to pay the squad’s salaries. According to Casares, in an interview with CNN, CLT (Consolidation of Labor Laws) salaries are up to date, but he says that image rights, which would represent 30% of the total owed to athletes, “can delay two, and then pay one and stay one”.

James Rodríguez had his career peak at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. He was one of the best in the competition in which Colombia reached the quarterfinals and was eliminated by Brazil. His participation was also marked by the goals he scored, especially against Japan, in the group stage, and Uruguay, in the round of 16.

It is not the first time that he has been quoted to transfer to a Brazilian team. Botafogo became interested in the player, but there was no deal.

In 2009, when he started his career at Banfield, he was turned down by Palmeiras. He was observed by Jorginho, then coach Muricy Ramalho’s assistant, who discarded him. He said he was substituted at half-time and was “a little ball” for being overweight.

Rodríguez arrives to fill, in theory, a gap in the team. A quality player in midfield, who can play in different sectors and capable of finishing with quality.

“São Paulo wanted a Raphael Veiga [meia-atacante do Palmeiras]. Someone who organizes, makes passes and goals. James is it. But he will need to be selected carefully, not in every game”, analyzes Paulo Vinicius Coelho, columnist for Sheet.