James Rodriguez hits out at former side as World Cup legend is released by third club in three years

JAMES RODRIGUEZ has hit out at former club Olympiacos a month after his sudden release.

Rodriguez joined the Greek giants in September and put together a series of impressive performances in his first few months.

But after a niggling injury the playmaker fell out of favour and was suddenly let go by the Piraeus outfit just seven months after his arrival, which was greeted with glee by the club’s faithful.

The Colombia international insists he doesn’t regret leaving Evangelos Marinakis’ club as he claims he wasn’t treated well “or in a serious way”.

The 31-year-old added that Olympiacos didn’t appreciate his contribution in Piraeus after five goals and six assists in 23 appearances.

Rodriguez told RCN News: “I was in 24 games and I played a lot, there could have been more goals. I played well. The numbers are a bit low for what I played.

“I do not regret it [leaving Olympiacos], as I said before. And more when they don’t treat you well or in a serious way and they don’t appreciate what you’ve done.”

This comes only a month after Rodriguez issued a touching farewell post to Olympiacos fans on Instagram.

The former Real Madrid star declared he wants to remain a “member and welcomed in the family of Olympiacos.”

Rodriguez posted: “I would like to thank everyone for all the time that we have spent together.

“Although we are going our separate ways, I feel that I will always be a member and welcomed in the family of Olympiacos and the great port Piraeus.

“I wish all the best to Olympiacos and every success in the future.”

Rodriguez joined Olympiacos alongside fellow legends Marcelo and Sime Vrsaljko, who also failed to live up to expectations.

This adds to the Colombian’s recent woes that have seen his stock plummet ever since his 2014 World Cup heroics.

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The versatile forward failed to stand out at Real ever since his move in 2014 and also struggled at Bayern Munich during his two-year loan stint.

Rodriguez left Los Blancos in 2019 and joined Everton soon after but left in 2021 despite a decent debut season.

That led the ex-Monaco star to Al-Rayyan but he ripped his contract up just 12 months later.

The former Porto star’s departure from Olympiacos means he has been released by three clubs in the last three years.

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk