James Rodriguez may not be in his prime, but he continues to stand out at the professional level. As the leader of the Colombian national team, he helped his country reach the 2024 Copa America final and was named MVP of the tournament. Despite his time at Real Madrid is over, James still makes an impact in the game. When asked about the best player in the world, he surprised many fans by excluding an important player from his answer.
Although James Rodriguez did not leave Real Madrid on the best terms, he still shows strong feelings for the club. Now the captain of Colombia, James was interviewed by Edu Aguirre, who asked him to name the best player in the world. Instead of picking just one, James gave a ranking: Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham, and Vinicius Junior. However, he did not clarify whether this was a ranked list or just a selection with no particular order.
Despite Mohamed Salah‘s standout season at Liverpool, the Colombian star chose not to include him in his list. This season, the Egyptian forward has played 43 matches, scoring 32 goals and providing 22 assists, marking the best performance of his career.
Salah is now just one goal away from surpassing Sergio Aguero as the highest-scoring foreign player in Premier League history, with both players currently tied on 184 goals.
James Rodriguez of Real Madrid talks with his manager Zinedine Zidane during the Copa del Rey Quarter Final at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on February 06, 2020 in Madrid, Spain.
However, including Kylian Mbappe among the world’s best players is undoubtedly a success. Despite a slow start to the season, the French forward has seen a dramatic improvement in his form. In 43 appearances, he has netted 30 goals and provided 4 assists, playing a key role in Real Madrid’s advancement to the Champions League quarterfinals.
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Are Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Jr. worthy of being in the top three players this season?
While Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Jr. remain key figures in Real Madrid’s long-term vision, neither is currently enjoying their best season. Both players firmly established themselves among the elite in world soccer last year. Bellingham, in particular, had an outstanding debut season, scoring 23 goals and providing 13 assists in 43 appearances.
Jude Bellingham‘s standout performances last season earned him widespread recognition as one of the best players of the year. However, this season, his focus has shifted away from goal-scoring, leading to some inconsistency in his displays. As a result, he has faced criticism from certain sections of the Real Madrid fanbase.
Similarly, Vinicius Junior, who was among the world’s top players last season, is enduring a rough patch this year. Criticized by his own supporters, he has been overshadowed by Kylian Mbappe‘s stellar form.
James Rodriguez shares surprising words for Zinedine Zidane after Real Madrid stint
James Rodriguez’s departure from Real Madrid was largely due to Zinedine Zidane‘s limited use of him, fueling rumors of a strained relationship between the two. However, James surprised many with a candid confession: “Zidane has always been my idol. Sometimes he would go into training and he had more quality than all of us.”
James denied any negative experiences with Zidane, offering a more reflective view on their time together: “When Zidane arrived, the press generated a lot of morbidity. Nothing happened to me with him, I wasn’t angry with him as it was said, but he found a great team in which I didn’t fit. I played with him but in key games he didn’t use me, he used Kroos, Casemiro and Modric and that’s respectable.“
