This shouldn't be the end of James Rodriguez, his talent is obvious clubs just need to understand him.

James Rodriguez once again finds himself secluded from the footballing world and searching for a new opportunity after Rayo Vallecano called an end to his five-month spell in the Spanish capital, which in total culminated 136 minutes.

This feeling has been a far too regular occurrence in the past five years for one of the current game’s purest and underappreciated entertainers.

After falling out with Zinedine Zidane, the Colombian seemed to embark on a pitstop tour, and on many occasions, it was as quick as an F1 tyre change.

Directly after being cast away by Real Madrid due to Zinedine Zidane’s hard shoulder, he reunited with Carlo Ancelotti and Everton, which at the time seemed like the wildest of fever dreams.

And for some Toffee fans, it must have seemed like a fantasy the way he started in Merseyside, but James’ hopefully start dwindled and his appearances on the pitch were sparse, as Ancelotti went back to Madrid and Rafa Benitez came in.

Qatar was next and less than a year later he was unemployed, Europe came calling again in the form of Olympiacos but his time in Athens was even shorter. Eight months. 

In the hope of rediscovering his form, he returned to South America in July 2023 for the first time in 13 years and by July 2024 he was out.

That all led to him returning to Madrid but playing for the forgotten sister of the footballing city, Rayo Vallecano and again he struggled to make an impact in six months.

But this shouldn’t be the case, and the fact that Rodriguez is strapped for suitable destinations highlights the game's gaping issue when it comes to embracing individuality and spontaneity, which the club ecosystem seems so desperately deprived of.

The mercurial midfielder hasn’t lost what made him such an exciting talent at the 2014 World Cup, and only this summer proved that, not only, can he be an important asset to a team, he can transform it.

Not since 2001 has Colombia reached the final of the Copa America when Ivan Cordoba captained the side and Victor Aristizabal starred, the triumph was a collective.

This year it was down to one man’s pure brilliance and ability to etch himself into history with an iconic run of performances, providing a record six assists in the tournament and being crowned the player of the tournament.

His desire was on full show and that in turn brought the footballing talent that has often been unavailable at club level.

Wonderful technique mirrored with a decisive edge, such as 20 key passes played, and the freedom and willingness to attempt outrageous moments put him on a level that no one matched that tournament, not even Lionel Messi.

But again this is all expected from Rodriguez, what has often missed from his game and led to him being frozen out on many occasions when away from the national team was his defensive efforts but not last summer.

He was key to Colombia’s off-the-ball play winning 54.5% of his tackles, although the Colombian’s game is difficult to define by numbers.

There is a certain bracket of players where numbers often give a player a disservice. Eden Hazard, Isco and James are three that sprung to mind.

These were footballers who would occupy multiple defenders, drag teams through difficult moments and leave the field as the best player without influencing the scoreline directly, and players who starred in this generation but would be icons in previous years.

They were also people who struggled at times in their careers, due to the way they wanted to play the game and their feelings towards it.

And none more so than James, a continuation of falling out with managers at a plethora at clubs painted him in a bad way and the ‘problem’ but also tactically his breed is falling by the wayside.

With such desperation to win put on managers by fans, board members and players in the modern game, can they risk having a passenger at times just for the hope of a moment of magic?

Rodriguez has become a victim of that and in turn, so have fans. More powerful athletes who finish top of the running stats are preferred, as well as players who are able to be moulded to the manager's wish. The growth of pursuing constant control of games with rigid tactics has slowly led to the extinction of James Rodriguez’s.

But this shouldn't be the case, and James has shown that a successful side can be achieved by pure brilliance in moments. It was missing in the final as Messi collected his second Copa America, but Rodriguez shouldn’t be at the stage where it might be a risk to sign him.

Rodriguez has managed to keep himself at the top level for Colombia, and aims to do that in one more tournament at the World Cup in 2026, but he will need to find a club, so he can continue to remain sharp for his truest passion. Colombia.

At this stage h should be fighting offers off because he is a man who can take a club to the next level, but maybe a little more love needs to be shown. That’s why Colombia adore him and he adores Colombia.