Rodríguez makes Porto commitment
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
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Colombian winger James Rodríguez has committed to UEFA Europa League winners FC Porto, extending his contract by two years until 2016 after a spectacular first season with the club.
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One of the revelations of FC Porto's spectacular season, James Rodríguez, has committed himself to the club, extending his contract by two years until 2016.
The 19-year-old Colombian winger joined Porto last summer from Argentina's CA Banfield for €5.1m but only really broke into the team in December. Rodríguez ended up playing 32 matches in all competitions and scored a hat-trick in the 6-2 Portuguese Cup final defeat of Vitória SC that completed a season where the club won the UEFA Europa League and Portuguese Liga. He impressed at the recent Toulon Youth Festival, and was voted player of the tournament as Colombia Under-20s beat France in the final.
Porto president Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa told the club's general assembly: "We will continue to protect FC Porto's assets and today we renewed the contract with James Rodríguez for two more seasons until 2016 and he will have a release clause of €45m." As Portuguese titleholders, Porto enter next season's UEFA Champions League in the group stage.
