Richarlison has been speaking to TNT Sports about life at Everton, where he made an interesting revelation involving James Rodriguez and Rafa Benitez.
What’s the story?
Well, Richarlison has admitted that he was “surprised” to hear Benitez tell Rodriguez he was surplus to requirements at Everton.
Back in 2021, the Spaniard decided to sell the Colombian after replacing Carlo Ancelotti, in what was one of his first big decisions at Goodison Park.
Speaking about the situation, Richarlison said: “When I arrived from the Olympics, I was even surprised at how much he was running and dedicating himself to training, training well. Out of nowhere, the coach said he didn’t count on him anymore, and nobody understood anything.”
Evidently, the Brazil international doesn’t agree with what Benitez did.
Benitez opted to sell the 2014 World Cup Golden Boot winner to Al-Rayyan, in a deal that was said to be worth €8m (£7m).
Since then, the 30-year-old has actually done quite well, scoring three goals while also recording four assists in nine league appearances.
In total, Rodriguez made 26 appearances for Everton, scoring six goals while providing nine assists as well.
Everton must avoid James Rodriguez repeat
In our view, no matter how big a name they are, Everton must avoid signing more players like Rodriguez.
The South American earned an eye-watering £200,000-a-week at Goodison Park, and at times, it didn’t really look like he was putting in 100%.
At one point, Rodriguez admitted he didn’t even know who Everton were playing at the weekend.
Those wages could’ve been spread out across three of four quality players, ones who have bright futures ahead of them rather than those whose best years are behind them.
According to TEAMtalk, Everton want to sign Conor Gallagher, and that’s exactly the type of profile the Toffees should target from this point on.
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