Everton have announced the signing of James Rodriguez from Real Madrid for a fee of around £20m.The Colombian midfielder has signed a three-year deal with the Toffees and represents the club's first major signing of the summer.Rodriguez told the club's official website: “I am really, really happy to be at this great club, a club with so much history, and here with a manager who knows me really well.
Rodriguez to the Premier League
“I’m looking forward to achieving great things here – and winning things, which is what everyone’s aim is. I’ve come here to try to improve, to get better. I’ve also come here to help the team to win, to play good football – entertaining football.
“I’m convinced, with Carlo and his technical staff, we can achieve big things and one of the big reasons [I signed] was the presence of Carlo Ancelotti.
“I have enjoyed some great times with him previously at two different clubs. That was a massive reason to come here.”
Everton welcome Rodriguez
Rodriguez has previously worked under Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti at both Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.
The Italian was the driving force behind the pursuit of the 29-year-old star and it's a signing that is easily one of the biggest in Everton's illustrious history.
Despite falling out of favour at Real Madrid under Zinedine Zidane, Rodriguez is still viewed as one of the world's top playmakers and is a global superstar.
Massive profile for Everton
The Colombian scored 37 goals and notched 42 assists in his 125 games for Los Blancos following his arrival at the club in the summer of 2014 from AS Monaco in a £71m deal.
His performances at the World Cup that same year elevated his status to that of a household name, with Rodriguez scoring six goals and scooping the coveted Golden Boot award.
He's now one of the most followed footballers on social media, amassing 18.7 million followers on Twitter and a further 46 million on Instagram.
To put those numbers into perspective, Everton as a club have just 2.1 million Twitter followers and 1.7 million over on Instagram.
Rodriguez is going to have a huge impact both on and off the pitch at Goodison Park.