James Rodriguez Wants Liverpool To Beat Real Madrid In Champions League Final

Former Real Madrid and Everton midfielder James Rodriguez will be supporting Liverpool in this month's UEFA Champions League final.

Former Real Madrid and Everton midfielder James Rodriguez will be supporting Liverpool in this month's UEFA Champions League final.

Rodriguez played over 100 matches for Real after joining them for more than £70m in 2014.

He later spent a year at Everton, Liverpool's local rivals, scoring six goals in 23 Premier League games in the 2020/21 season.

But the 30-year-old, who now plays for Al-Rayyan in Qatar, wants Liverpool to beat Real at the Stade de France on May 28.

Rodriguez is giving his backing to the Reds because he wants to see Colombia teammate Luis Diaz crowned as a European club champion.

Speaking on his Twitch channel, Rodriguez said: "I want Liverpool to be champion. I have many friends in Real Madrid and it is a difficult team for this type of match, but I want Lucho to win."

Diaz has been a revelation for Liverpool since arriving from Porto, another one of Rodriguez's former clubs, in January.

He has scored three goals and provided three assists in his last seven Liverpool appearances, despite only completing 90 minutes in two of those matches.

Rodriguez is a two-time Champions League winner with Real, having contributed to their triumphant campaigns in the 2015/16 and 2016/17 seasons.

But he did not feature in either final. He was an unused substitute in the 2016 final, where Real beat Atletico 5-3 on penalties, before missing out on a place in the squad all together a year later when his teammates thrashed Juventus 4-1.

James Rodriguez pictured wearing the Colombian flag around his shoulders while lifting the Champions League trophy as a Real Madrid player in 2017 :: IMAGO/PA Images/Mike Egerton