This was the unpublished talk that Carlos Antonio Velez had with James Rodríguez

Over the years, Carlos Antonio Velez has been characterized as one of the main critics of James Rodriguez. The renowned communicator has become accustomed to expressing himself openly in the face of situations with which he does not agree, so, in the past, some Colombian players have expressed his discomfort with the way in which he thinks.

In recent times, the sports journalist has emphasized that James's career is in decline, and that he will hardly be able to return to the football elite. This outlook increased after the wheel was announced as the new player of Qatar's Al-Rayyan. In addition, after confirming the elimination of the Colombia team from the World Cup in Qatar, Velez placed James among the players who should no longer return to the 'Tricolor'.

Under this scenario, the Colombian communicator recently confessed, in an interview with Semana, that his words to James have been focused on the sports plane and far from any sentimentality: “I just say what I have to say, this is not about feelings. I don't have to love anyone except my wife, my children, my life and some friends. The rest is a rigorous judgment. I had the luxury of saying it to James's face.”

After these first words, Carlos Antonio revealed that he had the possibility of having a conversation 'hand in mano' with the '10' of Colombia. This match took place in the preview of the 2015-16 UEFA Champions League final, in which Real Madrid faced Atlético Madrid at the Giuseppe Meazza stadium (Italy).

“He attended me very dear, we talked for a long time. He knew I was his critic and I told him: 'When a person has problems with [Rafa] Benitez, Zidane and [Claudio] Ranieri, the problem is not the boss. Why don't you think that? Think about it, '” said Velez, clarifying that, at that time, Rodriguez “had not gone to Bayern and had not fought with the Croatian [Niko Kovac]. I had not yet gone to the second stage in Madrid to fight with 'Zizou' again.”

Velez did not want to give more details about the meeting with James, because, as he explained, “I promised him that I would never say it and I will never say it”. However, he made clear his support for Zidane, considering that, if he did not play as a starter, it was rightly so.

“I did feel obliged to tell him that before the final in Milan, before Real Madrid played for Atletico Madrid. I said, 'Man, I think 'Zizou' is doing the right thing because you haven't complied. What do we do? It's just that here the level is different. Talent in these football teams is a marginal issue, '” Vélez concluded to the aforementioned media outlet.

Despite the victory against Venezuela, the 'Tricolor' was not enough to secure a place for the next World Cup. The team's sadness was expressed by Rodríguez to the media: “Everything you say can be used against us, now there are no more words, we did our job, but when you don't depend on yourself it's much more complicated, even though we've done the job.”

One of the historical references of the Colombian team that targeted James was Freddy Rincón. In the program 'Best of the Date', by Win Sports, the former footballer stated that he “did not deserve to be called to the national team. A player who has a technique like the one he has, must be physically well to be able to use it for the Colombian National Team or the team where he is playing.”

“Things have to be called by name, I'm not a friend of James, I don't know the truth or personally and I think you have to talk things the way they should be,” Rincón clarified.

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