Rayo Vallecano sign James Rodriguez as player claims: Rafa Benitez pushed me out of Everton

James vehemently denies ever having had any desire to leave the Blues for Al Rayyan.

He recalled to Everton's YouTube channel:  “I’ve spoken about this in interviews before and I didn’t want to leave the club either, but the new manager (Rafa Benitez) had arrived, and we all know who that is, and he said I wasn’t going to feature in his plans.

"I never wanted to leave, that much is obvious, I felt I could have gone on to play two or three seasons more at the club but it’s plain to see that the manager said that he wouldn’t be wanting me to be involved at all.

“The supporters wanted me to stay, and so did I, but in the end, that’s just football for you. What happened then is now all in the past, but it was a real shame because I believed that I could have gone on to achieve more in my time at Everton Football Club. I feel like I could have brought more happiness to the fans.”