‘Brilliant’ player says he never wanted to leave Everton and he was forced to go

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Everton have had to say goodbye to a number of talented players in recent years.

The likes of Richarlison, Amadou Onana and Anthony Gordon have all left Goodison Park for big fees.

However, one of Everton’s most talented players in recent years left under acrimonious circumstances.

Indeed, James Rodriguez left Everton under a dark cloud, and now, speaking to the club’s YouTube channel, the Colombian has opened up on his departure.

The midfielder admitted that he never wanted to leave Everton, but he was forced out by the manager, Rafa Benitez.

Rodriguez wasn’t happy about this situation, so much so that he couldn’t even bring himself to say Benitez’s name.

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James Rodriguez didn’t want to leave Everton

The ‘brilliant‘ South American spoke about his departure from Everton.

“Tell us a little bit about your departure from Everton?” Rodriguez was asked.

“Yes, I’ve spoken about this in interviews before and I didn’t want to leave the club. But the new manager had arrived, and we all know who that is, and he said that I wasn’t going to feature in his plans,” Rodriguez said.

“I never wanted to leave, that much is obvious. I felt I could’ve gone on to play another two or three seasons more at the club, but it’s plain to see that the manager said he wouldn’t be wanting me to be involved at all.”

“The supporters wanted me to stay, and so did I, but that is just football for you, what happened then is all in the past, but it was a real shame because I believed I could’ve achieved more in my time at Everton Football Club.”

James Rodriguez situation was a shame

It’s such a shame that a player as talented as Rodriguez was hounded out of Everton by a manager like Rafa Benitez.

Simply put, Benitez’s time at Everton was a disaster, and getting rid of Rodriguez was one of his more controversial decisions.

Of course, Frank Lampard didn’t fare much better at Everton, but perhaps he could’ve got something out of Rodriguez. After all, Lampard loves an attacking midfield player.

It’s a real shame that Rodriguez’s time at Everton ended like this.