Former Real Madrid star James Rodriguez completes sensational return to La Liga, pens one-year deal with surprise club: Reports

Former Real Madrid forward James Rodriguez has returned to La Liga, joining Rayo Vallecano. He has joined them permanently as a free agent, signing a one-year deal.

Rodriguez previously signed for Real Madrid from AS Monaco in 2014. He spent six years at the club, including two years on loan at Bayern Munich between 2017 and 2019. The Colombian made 125 appearances for Los Blancos, scoring 37 goals and providing 42 assists. He won two UEFA Champions League trophies and two La Liga titles, among other honors, with them.

Rodriguez then left the Spanish giants in 2020 and joined Everton on a free transfer. He's since spent time at Al-Rayyan SC, Olympiacos, and Sao Paulo before leaving the latter earlier this summer.

Rodriguez had a stellar Copa America 2024 with Colombia as he captained the side to the final, where they lost against Argentina. He made six assists in the tournament, the most by any player in a single edition. The 33-year-old's performances saw many teams take an interest in signing him and Rayo Vallecano have won the race.

Los Franjirrojos finished 17th in La Liga last season, avoiding relegation by just five points. They will now hope Rodriguez's experience will help them improve this season. In their two games so far this campaign, they've beaten Real Sociedad 2-1 and drawn 0-0 against Getafe.

---

Carlo Ancelotti on Real Madrid's win over Real Valladolid

Real Madrid beat Real Valladolid 3-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday (August 25) to register their first La Liga win of the season. They had beaten Atalanta in the UEFA Super Cup but then played out a 1-1 draw against Mallorca in their opening league game.

Against Valladolid, Los Blancos had an underwhelming start as it remained goalless at half-time. Federico Valverde fired a free kick via a deflection in the 50th minute to open the scoring. Both sides then created some chances but the hosts put the game to bed in the 88th minute through Brahim Diaz. Endrick scored his first goal for the club in the sixth minute of stoppage time to make it 3-0.

After the game, Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti assessed his side's performance and said (via Managing Madrid):

“It was a good feeling, because when we win a match we have to be happy. Especially considering the difficulties of the first half. The second half was much more active up front, faster with the ball.”

Los Blancos will next face Las Palmas away on Thursday, August 29.