Everton have now officially confirmed the signing of James Rodriguez, with the Colombian star become Carlo Ancelotti’s marquee signing of the summer.
James has penned a two-year deal with the Merseyside club, with Everton having the option to extend this by a further additional year.
Toffees boss Ancelotti has finally pulled off the coup, knowing James well from his time in charge at Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.
The 29-year-old is understood to have cost Everton in the region of £20million, and has now finally brought his torrid time at Real Madrid to an end.
Everton thrilled their fanbase on Monday evening by teasing the arrival, before publishing a video in which James could be heard saying: ‘I’m here, I’m happy, I’m proud to be a Blue.’
The Toffees then reeled off all of the 29-year-old’s honours during his career so far, along with the teams he has played for, before showing a mocked up graphic of James in the Everton shirt.
Ahead of the move James had touched down in England last week and spent time at swanky Mayfair restaurant Babbo, which is owned by Arsenal stars David Luiz and Willian, late on Wednesday night.
Making his name as the breakout star of the 2014 World Cup, James soon joined Real Madrid from Monaco, but struggled to convince at the Bernabeu and found game time hard to come by under boss Zinedine Zidane.
The playmaker was sent out on loan for two seasons to Bayern Munich from 2017, though the German club did not take up the option to make the move permanent.
Taking to social media to give reaction to his latest move, James shared a series of pictures of himself in his new Everton shirt, and wrote: ‘A new stage for a new challenge in my career. Happy, eager to start and full of ambition, dedication and commitment.’
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