Real Madrid drama: James Rodriguez says nobody wants him anymore

Colombian star James Rodriguez got candid as he spoke to fans during an appearance on popular streaming platform Twitch. He said that "nobody wants me there anymore" when a fan asked him about a possible return to Spanish giants Real Madrid.

It may be remembered that James made the move to Premier League side Everton last summer, after spending most of last season on the Real Madrid bench. He spent a very uncomfortable year back under Zinedine Zidane, who made it clear that he wasn't considered as a key member of the squad.

He found a new home under the wings of former Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti, who lured him to the Premier League via Everton. He has found much more success with the Toffees, and he believes no one would be interested in asking him to return to the Santiago Bernabeu.

Just a few days ago, Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos also weighed in on what it takes to be successful with the reigning La Liga champions. In an interview shared by Marca, Kroos said, "I think there have been a lot of players here who had enough quality. But here you also need a physical presence and the right mentality when things aren't going well. You need more than sporting quality."

No one can question the "sporting quality" possessed by Rodriguez. After all, he caught the attention of Real Madrid president Florentino Perez after becoming the golden boy of the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals.

He also showed moments of brilliance at the Bernabeu but fell out of favour a lot more quickly than expected. He was shipped off on a loan spell to Bayern Munich from 2017-2019, where he scored a total of 14 goals. It was hardly stellar, but definitely better than his time in Spain.

Just halfway through the current season, James has already scored 5 goals for Everton. He arrived amid much fanfare, especially after he helped Everton string together a successful round of opening games. They have now fallen down to seventh place, but there is no doubt that the Colombian is having a much better season here than he had in Madrid.

The real question is, while saying "nobody" wants him back at Real Madrid, did he actually mean he himself is first of all not interested in a comeback?