What’s Next for Colombia’s James Rodriguez?
Where next for James Rodriguez? The Colombian midfielder has had his exit from MLS club Minnesota confirmed, just six months after having signed his contract, and will now look for his eighth club in the last seven years. James only managed eight appearances for the club since he signed and is set to enter free agency once again.
Fox Sports has reported that James Rodriguez “Earned significant respect for his conduct behind the scenes and his influence on the training ground”, as “Rodriguez’s teammates frequently spoke of his professionalism and the wealth of knowledge he shared with the younger members of the squad.”
This is a stark difference from other stories circulating on social media that portray James Rodriguez as a player who has been unprofessional during his career, and to be fair, he hasn’t helped himself. Before this year’s World Cup kicked off, a Netflix documentary on his career was released, and a clip where he admitted getting into an altercation with Bayern manager Niko Kovac for not wanting to do cycling work in the gym went viral, as it was ‘proof’ of James’s issue.
Indeed, mentality and professionalism are aspects of James Rodriguez that have been criticized throughout his illustrious career. It is a shadow that, unfortunately, has been consistently cast over him during his career.
James Rodriguez has played more for the Colombian national team than for any other team in his career
James Rodriguez is a very particular player. Until this World Cup, Colombian fans had the perception that despite the lack of consistency in club football, every time James played for Colombia, he delivered. Indeed, during the 2024 World Cup, he put on a show as he led the team to the final and won the award for best player of the tournament.
However, in 2026 this was not the case. As it has been widely reported, James did not have a serious preparation for the tournament, as he spent a considerable amount of time during the year before the World Cup in free agency. Despite there being a collective faith in him rising to the occasion, James, who turned 35 during the tournament, failed to deliver. This week, a ranking of the three slowest players in the tournament was published. Rodriguez appeared three separate times in the top 5. That piece of data seems to back the claim that his club football inconsistency caught up to him.
James Rodriguez played more times for the Colombian national team (131) than he has done for any other club. He played for Real Madrid 111 times and for FC Porto 107 times. Only Gary Medel from Chile, Ahmed Hassan, Ali Daei, and Younies Mahmoud can claim they also played more for their national teams than for their clubs. None of them are household names.
What’s next for James Rodriguez?
Coming off an underwhelming World Cup, it’s hard to say what’s next for Colombia’s number 10. The only fact so far is that unless he retires, he will have to look for his 14th club in his career. So far, no serious links have been reported, though it is not hard to imagine James playing in South American latitudes once again.
It is also difficult to say what his future, if any, is in the national team. After the World Cup, fans and analysts have seemed to agree on the fact that it is now the time to think about a post-James Rodriguez Colombia team. Unofficial reports have suggested that Nestor Lorenzo picking him as a starter during the tournament angered some of the heavyweights of the dressing room, such as Jhon Arias and Richard Rios.
Lorenzo has been confirmed as the Colombian manager for four more years, and if James finds consistency, it is not too far-fetched to think he will be picked by the manager, at least for the World Cup qualifiers and Copa America.
With James Rodriguez’s career once again up in the air, an official announcement may help clear doubts on what’s next for the midfielder.