INTERNATIONAL: Colombia international James Rodriguez has joined Qatar's Al-Rayyan from Premier League Everton. Neither club has disclosed the length of his new contract or the transfer fee, but Everton aren’t going to miss him too much.

The 30-year-old midfielder's future at Everton had looked uncertain ever since they appointed manager Rafa Benitez to replace Carlo Ancelotti. Rodriguez joined Everton from Real Madrid last September, looking to revive his career in England, but he managed just six goals from 26 games.

He did better at Real, scoring 37 goals across two spells, after joining them on the back of stellar performances at the 2014 World Cup, where he won the Golden Boot, but he struggled to live up to his $94-million price tag. He was then loaned out to Bayern Munich in 2017. He returned for a second spell at Real in July 2019 but found himself in the starting line-up just five times. Al-Rayyan are eighth in Qatar's top flight league after two matches this season.

^{PHOTO: B-ROLL OF COLOMBIAN FOOTBALLER JAMES RODRIGUEZ, WHO HAS MOVED TO QATARI CLUB AL-RAYYAN}