James Rodriguez Asserts Superiority Over Zidane, Modric, Kroos And Xavi In His Prime

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James Rodriguez, a former Real Madrid midfielder, recently claimed that during his peak, he was superior to football legends like Zinedine Zidane, Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, and Xavi. James gained fame at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil by contributing to eight goals for Colombia. He became the first player since Jairzinho in 1970 to score in every World Cup match he played.

His outstanding performance earned him the Golden Boot, although Lionel Messi took home the Golden Ball. Following his World Cup success, Real Madrid signed James from Monaco for a reported £63 million. During his time with Los Blancos, he made 125 appearances and scored 37 goals while providing 42 assists. Despite these achievements, only 94 of those appearances were starts.

James won nine major trophies with Real Madrid, including two Champions League titles in 2015-16 and 2016-17. Afterward, he was loaned to Bayern Munich before leaving Madrid in 2020. His career continued with stints at Everton, Olympiacos, and Rayo Vallecano. Currently, he plays for Leon in Mexico.

Reflecting on his time at Real Madrid, James expressed confidence in his abilities compared to some of the club's Galacticos. "Zidane was very good. In his prime he won the World Cup," James stated. "But James. In my prime, James." He reiterated this sentiment when comparing himself to Modric, Kroos, and Xavi.

James also praised Jude Bellingham's potential to win the Ballon d'Or due to his impressive performances since joining Real Madrid. Bellingham helped secure Champions League and LaLiga titles in his debut season at Santiago Bernabeu. He finished third in Ballon d'Or rankings behind teammate Vinicius Junior as Manchester City's Rodri won the award.

Bellingham has tallied 34 goals and 24 assists across all competitions for Madrid so far. In his first season under Carlo Ancelotti's guidance alone, he contributed to 36 goals (23 goals and 13 assists). James drew parallels between Bellingham's debut season and his own remarkable year back in 2014.

The Challenge of Winning the Ballon d'Or

In 2014, James finished eighth in Ballon d'Or voting despite competing against football giants like Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi. "I scored more than 14 goals and 15 assists," he recalled about that year. "It was a spectacular year similar to Bellingham's first season." He acknowledged that winning individual awards was challenging with such strong competition.

"Of course," James added regarding winning the Ballon d'Or back then: "I had Messi; Cristiano Ronaldo; [Andres] Iniesta; Xavi; [Luis] Suarez; Neymar... I finished eighth with these greats ahead of me." While admitting disappointment over not winning it himself despite coming close several times throughout his career journey thus far—he emphasized focusing more on team success like securing Champions League titles instead.