Harry Maguire and Albanians. Lionel Messi using a fax machine. Andy Carroll scoring a goal. Football has gone well-mad since the Champions League final and the madness keeps coming: you could see Colombian superstar James Rodriguez in an Everton shirt next season.
Reports claim Everton have made an offer for the Real Madrid midfielder, and as he can’t crack Zidane’s starting line-up, this is weirdly credible. Not to mention, Rodriguez has played twice under Carlo Ancelotti (at Real and Bayern). Ancelotti “likes him a lot”.
Everton (prosaic, old-fashioned, muddy, a proper home for players like Tony Hibbert) and James (daring, exotic, looks like the hero in a Disney film called ‘The Boy Who Played Soccer’) would feel like a very odd football marriage, but it’s so ill-matched that it might just work. He’s certainly a brilliant player – and Everton don’t have too many of them in the cupboard – but his body of work since he broke out at the 2014 World Cup is full of holes.
Carlo Ancelotti when he hears James Rodriguez has actually agreed to sign for Everton pic.twitter.com/1T6oFsZvYY
— Marathonbet (@marathonbet) August 26, 2020
Still, the thought of global superstars like Messi and James suddenly facing away Premier League days at Bramall Lane and Craven Cottage is more than enough to make you smile. As a Spurs fan, it reminds me of the time Jurgen Klinsmann first signed for us – it didn’t feel real for months. But these days, what does feel real?