Colombia star Rodriguez leaves La Liga for Mexico

Colombia captain and ex-Real Madrid star James Rodriguez has joined Mexico’s Club Leon after a brief and unsuccessful stint with La Liga side Rayo Vallecano, the clubs announced on Monday.

The former Bayern Munich and Monaco playmaker joined Rayo for free at the start of the season but only made six league appearances for the Madrid club, which wished him “the best of luck”.

Club Leon unveiled the transfer with a dramatic video in which Rodriguez plays a fleet-footed Roman gladiator adulated by a roaring crowd.

The 33-year-old greeted his new fans in a brief video announcing he was already in Mexico “with a lot of enthusiasm, with lots of excitement”.

Rodriguez was player of the tournament as Colombia finished as runners-up in last year’s Copa America and won the Golden Boot at the 2014 World Cup.

He lifted two La Liga titles and two Champions Leagues with Real Madrid and won two Bundesliga trophies during a loan spell at Bayern.

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Why are you flagging this comment?

I disagree with this user

Targeted harassment - posted harassing comments or discussions targeting me, or encouraged others to do so

Spam - posted spam comments or discussions

Inappropriate profile - profile contains inappropriate images or text

Threatening content - posted directly threatening content

Private information - posted someone else's personally identifiable information

Before flagging, please keep in mind that Disqus does not moderate communities. Your username will be shown to the moderator, so you should only flag this comment for one of the reasons listed above.

We will review and take appropriate action.

Get the latest news delivered straight to your inbox every day of the week. Stay informed with the Guardian’s leading