James Rodriguez has left Everton to join Qatari side Al-Rayyan for an undisclosed fee.
The Colombia playmaker, who did not make his nation's squad for the Copa America due to concerns over his fitness after missing the end of Everton's 2020-21 campaign, had not featured in a competitive game for the Toffees so far this season.
Rafael Benitez reportedly did not see the 30-year-old as a key player in his squad and confirmed earlier this month that Everton had been open to offers for the former Real Madrid man, who won the Golden Boot at the 2014 World Cup.
Signed on a free transfer from Madrid by previous manager Carlo Ancelotti, James made 26 appearances in all competitions for Everton last season, scoring six goals and creating a further eight.
However, with the Qatari transfer window still open, Al-Rayyan – coached by former Paris Saint-Germain and France boss Laurent Blanc – have now signed the Colombian star.
Blanc took over Al-Rayyan in December 2020 and guided them to a third-placed finish in the Qatar Stars League, behind Al-Duhail and Al-Sadd, coached by Barcelona legend Xavi.
James' signing represents a coup for the league ahead of the Qatar 2022 World Cup, though he will still have to fight his way back into Reinaldo Rueda's Colombia squad.
Though injuries did limit his game time, James was a creative fulcrum for Everton under Ancelotti, forging 54 chances, placing him second in the squad behind Gylfi Sigurdsson (60), who made 18 appearances more.
James led the way for Everton with chances created from open play (38) and when it came to crafting big chances (14) – defined by Opta as situations where players should reasonably be expected to score.
Per 90 minutes played, James created 0.56 big chances in the Premier League, putting him just below Jack Grealish and Bruno Fernandes (0.58), ranking sixth in the competition among those who played 20 or more matches.
Everton went unbeaten in their first five games under Benitez but lost 3-0 to Aston Villa last Saturday before heading out of the EFL Cup with an 8-7 penalty shoot-out defeat to Queens Park Rangers on Tuesday, following a 2-2 draw at Loftus Road.
"To be fair, I don't have too much information," Benitez said when asked about James after the EFL Cup exit. "I know he is already there [in Qatar].
"Don't forget, we are talking about a special situation from this club, the financial fair play rules have to manage everything in the best way we can."
Everton have been operating under tight financial constraints this season, with four of the five arrivals under Benitez coming on free transfers, while Demarai Gray cost a reported £1.7million from Bayer Leverkusen.
Rennes make top four, Nantes survive and Auxerre relegated on Ligue 1 final day
Rennes edged out Lille and Monaco to secure a top-four finish while Nantes' first league win since February saw them stay up at Auxerre's expense on a dramatic final day of Ligue 1 action.
Rennes clinched a 2-1 victory against Brest thanks to a Benjamin Bourigeaud brace, seizing on Lille's 1-1 draw with relegated Troyes and Monaco's 2-1 reverse against Toulouse to take fourth.
Bruno Genesio's side thus secured Europa League football for next season, while Paulo Fonseca's Lille must settle for a Europa Conference League spot and Monaco missed out entirely.
Champions Paris Saint-Germain squandered a two-goal lead in a 3-2 loss to Clermont, meaning they finished just one point clear of runners-up Lens, who ended the season with a 3-1 win at Auxerre.
That victory allowed Nantes to finalise a great escape in their final game, vaulting Auxerre to secure safety with a 1-0 win over relegated Angers.
Nantes therefore secured top-flight football for another year, evading the expanded four-team relegation zone by a single point ahead of the division being cut to 18 teams.
Auxerre, Ajaccio, Troyes and Angers will play in Ligue 2 next season, with Le Havre and either Metz or Bordeaux coming up from the second tier.
Lionel Messi’s final game for Paris St Germain ends in defeat to Clermont
Lionel Messi ended his Paris St Germain career with a 3-2 defeat to Clermont.
The Argentinian World Cup winner will quit Paris this summer having already been linked with a return to Barcelona and Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal next season.
He will leave as a Ligue 1 champion with PSG having already secured the title before blowing a 2-0 lead to lose on the final day of the season.
Sergio Ramos, on his final appearance for the club, and Kylian Mbappe’s penalty gave the hosts control.
Johan Gastien pulled a goal back and Mehdi Zeffane levelled in first-half stoppage time. Grejohn Kyei gave the visitors the lead after 63 minutes and Clermont held out for victory.
At the bottom, Nantes beat the drop by a point on the final day as Auxerre were relegated.
A 1-0 win over rock-bottom Angers, thanks to Ignatius Ganago’s goal, gave Nantes the win they needed as Auxerre lost 3-1 at home to Lens.
Alexis Claude-Maurice’s double gave Lens a 2-0 lead before M’Baye Niang pulled a goal back. Lois Openda made it 3-1 with 12 minutes left to seal Auxerre’s fate.
Rennes won 2-1 at Brest as they clinched fourth ahead of Lille thanks to Benjamin Bourigeaud’s double, with Lille held 1-1 by relegated Troyes to go into the Europa Conference League qualifiers.
Monaco missed out on the top five after a 2-1 defeat at home to Toulouse.
Relegated Ajaccio beat third-placed Marseille 1-0, Lorient beat Strasbourg 2-1 and Nice beat Lyon 3-1 with mid-table Montpellier winning 3-1 at Reims, finishing a point behind their hosts.
In Germany, Chelsea-bound Christopher Nkunku opened the scoring as RB Leipzig beat Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0 in the German Cup final.
The striker broke the deadlock in the 71st minute before Dominik Szoboszlai doubled the lead with five minutes left.
In Italy, Lazio sealed second spot in Serie A after a 2-0 win at Empoli thanks to goals from Alessio Romagnoli and Luis Alberto.
It came after Marcelo Brozovic scored the winner as Inter Milan beat Torino 1-0 to briefly move ahead of them but Inter must now settle for third.
Already relegated Cremonese beat Salernitana 2-0 to finish their season on a high.
Paris Saint-Germain 2-3 Clermont: Messi and Ramos denied winning send-off as visitors fight back
Paris Saint-Germain failed to muster a winning send-off for Lionel Messi and Sergio Ramos as they ended the Ligue 1 season by squandering a two-goal lead in a 3-2 loss against Clermont.
Early goals for the Spaniard and Kylian Mbappe put the champions on top at Parc des Princes, before Johan Gastien, Mehdi Zeffane and Grejohn Kyei completed a stirring comeback from the visitors.
It was a damp last note for ex-LaLiga heroes Messi and Ramos, who leave Paris as two-time league champions but without having won supporters' hearts – with Messi booed ahead of kick-off.
Likewise, it may prove a dour final chapter for coach Christophe Galtier, who is widely tipped to depart despite leading PSG to a record 11th league title.
PSG, who wore shirts adorned with the name of injured team-mate Sergio Rico in the first half, needed VAR to rescue them after Kyei prodded home an early finish.
The hosts promptly seized control, with Ramos netting a farewell header from Vitinha's delivery before Mbappe doubled their lead with an excellent penalty following Alidu Seidu's foul on Achraf Hakimi.
Clermont refused to fold though, with Gastien capitalising on Marco Verratti's mistake to halve the arrears and Zeffane bundling in a leveller either side of Kyei putting a spot-kick wide in a thrilling first half.
Messi, who misfired on his farewell, spurned a chance to finish Mbappe's square ball after the restart before Kyei nosed the visitors in front with a close-range finish.
PSG continued to toil for an equaliser in the closing stages and Messi almost stole a point in the final minute of injury time, only for goalkeeper Mory Diaw to stop his direct free-kick with an acrobatic save.
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