Orlando City must avoid James Rodríguez at all costs | OneFootball

It's been a slow news week at Orlando City.

Much of that is down to the club's early elimination from the MLS Cup Playoffs, but we are still being made to wait patiently for the end-of-season roster decisions to be dropped. Only Pedro Gallese's departure has actually been confirmed, but at least a handful more are expected to follow.

What's more, the traditional off-season flurry of transfer rumours - some realistic, most far-fetched - hasn't quite materialised as of yet. Earlier this week, 18-year-old Brazilian wonderkid Luis Otávio was linked as a potential successor to César Araújo, but that's about the last we've heard of that.

However, with James Rodríguez playing his final game for Liga MX side Club León last night, that is likely to change very soon.

Before his move to Mexico, Major League Soccer was heavily touted as a potential destination for the former Real Madrid man. Those rumours quickly resurfaced when his departure from León was announced last week.

On the surface, Orlando seems like a perfect move for Rodríguez. With a huge Colombian and Latin American demographic both at the club and within the wider community, he would feel right at home. His track record - starring for his national team and at past clubs like Madrid, Bayern Munich, and Everton - certainly suggests he would be a shrewd pick-up for Orlando, too.

But, for a number of reasons, Rodríguez just doesn't feel like the man to bring Orlando that much-desired second MLS-era championship. If any rumours do progress, let's not get too excited.

We have a precedent for this

An aging Colombian star, a stagnating club career, and once last big move before retirement. We've seen this all before.

Two seasons ago, Luis Muriel was supposedly going to be the man to turn Orlando into true MLS Cup contenders for the first time. But, just 17 goals in 84 games later, that couldn't have been any further from reality.

With Rodríguez being 34 years of age himself, Orlando risk making the same mistake again - especially given the huge wages he would likely command.

Earning $5 million in his sole year at León (which is double Muriel's salary), Rodríguez would have to be a serious coup. But, even if Orlando managed to pull the deal off, it's unlikely he could ever repay this sort of money.

Struggles at club level

Of course, we can't discount anyone solely on their age.

Since Muriel's arrival alone, we've seen 38-year-old Lionel Messi terrorise the entire league and 36-year-old Thomas Müller turn Vancouver Whitecaps into championship contenders themselves.

If Rodríguez's form for his national team is what we can expect, he may still be able to conjure some of that magic that made him the fourth-most expensive player in history at the time of his much-publicised move to Madrid in 2014. 10 goal contributions in 17 appearances helped Colombia cruise to qualification for next summer's FIFA World Cup, while his stellar performances at last year's Copa América saw him awarded the tournament's Golden Ball.

But his struggles at club level - any footballer's bread and butter - are more telling. Since departing Madrid on a free in 2020, Rodríguez has been passed around by no less than six clubs across the same number of countries. He just can't find any sort of consistency.

58 goal contributions in 127 games since then isn't at all a dreadful return, but only 20 of those have come in the last two years. Age-induced injuries, as well as national team commitments, have really limited his availability. For the money required, Orlando need someone who is available all of the time.

Orlando already have the perfect playmaker

For all of Orlando's shortcomings in 2025, their No. 10 was not one of them.

With 16 goals and 15 assists in league play, Martín Ojeda was simply sensational. The team's post-Leagues Cup collapse shattered any hopes both of individual and collective titles, but the 26-year-old was never to blame.

Although it is yet to be made official, Ojeda is set to renew with Orlando until at least 2027. That means guaranteed game-winning performances from that playmaker role - worthy of his salary as a Designated Player - for two more seasons.

Orlando do not need another high-earner in that position. Rodríguez would only diminish Ojeda's influence in games, either by directly taking his minutes or by pushing him out to the left wing - something which Óscar Pareja experimented with at times this season.

However brilliant he has been throughout his career, Rodríguez just wouldn't be able to match Ojeda's tally at his age and with his rate of unavailability. It's exciting that Orlando may well splash the cash this off-season, but they must use it wisely.