The longer James Rodriguez stays at Everton this summer, the more he becomes a major annoyance for the Blues.
It’s clear at this point that the midfielder wants out of the club, with the constant winks and comments on social media making that obvious.
Everton seem willing to give him his wish but finding someone willing to take the Colombian, particularly his big wages, has proven to be harder than they imagined.
They’ll be looking right up until the end of the window, and it appears there may be a new suitor in the mix; Atlético Madrid.
That’s according to MARCA, who say the Everton man was back dropping hints about a move to the Spanish side last night.
They cover a social media post from Rodriguez on which he used the phrase ‘nunca dejes de creer’ alongside a soon emoji.
On the face of it, that means very little, but that phrase is not just a random Spanish one plucked from the air; it’s heavily linked to Atlético.
It’s actually the official motto of the club, so much so that the club’s official Reddit page bears the same name.
To put it simply, Rodriguez posted Atlético’s official phrase alongside an emoji saying soon, heavily hinting that he’s about to complete a move to the club.
This is backed up by Mundo Deportivo, who also see the post as a major hint that he could be on his way to the Wanda Metropolitano.
Whether he does remains to be seen, but it’s an odd thing to do if there wasn’t something going on behind the scenes.
Interestingly it’s not the first time he’s been linked to Atlético, with it reported last summer that they had wanted to take him from Real Madrid, but the Spanish giants wouldn’t sell to their rivals, so he ended up at Everton instead.
Perhaps that interest remains, and with the Toffees keen to sell and Rodriguez equally determined to leave, the deal could now be done.
Indeed, according to Mundo, Rodriguez even revealed he had a deal in place with Atlético at one point after meeting Diego Simeone but Real wouldn’t sell him. Perhaps he’s now about to get the move he wanted originally.
