I was better than Zidane, Modric, Xavi, Toni Kroos – James Rodriguez
Former Real Madrid midfielder, James Rodriguez, has said that the likes of Zinedine Zidane, Toni Kroos, Luka Modric and Xavi were no match to him in his prime.
Rodiguez claimed that in his prime, he was better than the midfielders who are widely regarded as the greatest in the position.
The former Everton midfielder said this speaking on Edu Aguirre’s Los Amigos de Edu, where he put himself over Zidane even though the Frenchman won the FIFA World Cup.
He said, “Zidane was very good, in his prime he won the World Cup, but… James. In my prime, James.”
He repeated the same response when asked to pick between himself and Modric, Kroos, and Xavi.
About his move to the Santiago Bernabeu after the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the Colombian ssid “During the World Cup, (agent) Jorge Mendes told me that Real wanted me. He warned me and said, ‘Don’t lose focus, okay,’ and that gave me more strength. Right after that was the game against Japan, when I came on and scored a goal, then against Uruguay I scored two goals.
When he told me that, it gave me more strength. I was 22 years old and I said, ‘Now I have to play better’, and that’s when I got the World Cup Golden Boot.”
Rodriguez played 125 matches for Real Madrid and scored 37 goals while assisting 42 times.
