MLS: Could prime James Rodriguez be biggest transfer ever?
Inter Miami are reportedly pursuing Real Madrid midfielder James Rodriguez. Should the transfer be completed, would it be the biggest in MLS history?
The rumour mill is churning once again. And when it comes to expansion club Inter Miami, it never seems to stop. David Beckham’s venture are only two matches into their Major League Soccer existence and yet they have ostensibly been linked with every vaguely attractive name in the world, signing precisely none of them.
Nevertheless, the links keep on coming. The latest is Real Madrid star, James Rodriguez, who returned to the Bernabeu last summer and has sat on the bench for much of the year following a two-year loan stint at Bayern Munich. The Colombian star who lit up the 2014 World Cup seems set to leave Madrid, and with few European clubs able to afford his astronomical wages, a move to wealthy Miami could be on the cards.
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Last week, Goal reported that Inter Miami are interested in a move for Rodriguez. They have one final DP slot to fill having signed Rodolfo Pizarro and Matias Pellegrini in preparation for their first season in MLS. Beckham has reportedly entered into initial discussions with Madrid regarding a possible transfer.
The report was corroborated this weekend by Argentine sports newspaper, Ole, via Xinhua Net. Per the report, Beckham views Rodriguez and Javier Pastore of Paris Saint-Germain as ideal targets because of their South American heritage. Rodriguez is a hero in Colombia. Pastore has 29 international caps.
Miami has a strong Latino and South American population. Very much akin to the LA Galaxy signing Javier Hernandez and seeing their season ticket sales rocket as a result, Inter Miami are hoping for the same impact, which is especially pertinent for an expansion team.
What is most noticeable about a potential Rodriguez transfer is his age. He is 28. He remains in the prime of his career. This would signal a shift in MLS transfers. In fact, it would see Rodriguez arrive as arguably the most significant transfer in league history.
While Beckham himself is often heralded as the most groundbreaking transfer in MLS, and for good reason given the commercial success he provided, the explosive growth of the sport in the country he inspired, and the fact that he changed the very rules of the league, he was 31 when he came to the league.
Rodriguez, on the other hand, would be spurning his best years in favour of coming to MLS. Admittedly, if there were serious offers from major European clubs, make no mistake, he would not even consider a switch to MLS, even at Inter Miami to play under Beckham. But should Miami pull this off, it would still lead to an elite player joining MLS in his prime. That has never happened before.
Rodriguez will not carry the same attraction as Beckham to the layman sports fan. The baseball dad will not know who Rodriguez is, whereas they certainly knew of Beckham. But from a football perspective, Rodriguez should arrive in MLS at a higher level than his owner did. He is at his peak.
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Would Rodriguez be the biggest transfer in MLS history? Probably not. But it does represent a shift in transfers for the league, and that should not be overlooked.