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It Feels Surreal Watching James Rodriguez Score His First Qatar Stars League Goal

The first James Rodriguez Qatar goal was scored on Tuesday as the 30-year-old Colombian helped Al-Rayyan to a 4-2 victory in the Qatar Stars League. I still hear Peter Drury’s commentary of “my word this boy’s a star” from when James scored an absolute screamer against Uruguay in the 2014 World Cup echoing in my ear.

In 2014 it felt like James could conquer the Earth. In 2021 he’s scoring his first goal for Al-Rayyan.

First James Rodriguez Qatar Goal

After a disappointing spell with Real Madrid, James appeared to be turning his career around when he made the move to Everton in Sept. 2020. Three goals and two assists in his first four Premier League games looked like the start of something special. The return of the 2014 World Cup Golden Boot winner was imminent, no?

The same injury issues that haunted him at Real Madrid (and on loan at Bayern Munich) returned in Merseyside. The Colombian missed nearly half of the 20-21 season with injury and when Carlo Ancelotti left Everton in June 2021 it was clear that James would leave too.

With his personal stock declining perhaps it was the smart business move on James’ part to take his talents to Qatar. There have been varying reports on his new salary in Qatar, but it’s fair to guess he’s getting handsomely paid.

His new club Al-Rayyan sits middle of the table after seven games.

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