Everton have owned some very talented players over the years.
The Toffees have previously employed gems such as Leighton Baines, Romelu Lukaku, John Stones, Marouane Fellaini and Wayne Rooney – some of whom are among the best of their generation.
Dimitar Berbatov actually played with the latter and Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United, but despite that, the Bulgarian opted to name a former Everton man in James Rodriguez as the most creative teammate of his career.
Dimitar Berbatov says James Rodriguez is his most creative teammate
The Colombian scored six goals and provided nine assists in 26 appearances for Everton before sealing a £6.9m move to Al Rayyan in September 2021.
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While still being an immense talent on Merseyside, Rodriguez was closer to his best at Monaco, where Berbatov made 13 appearances alongside the South American – the pair combined for five goals.
The 44-year-old has now ignored the likes of Rooney and Ronaldo to name the former Everton man as the teammate who stood out most when it came to creativity, telling the Premier League on TikTok: “James Rodriguez. His left foot and the balls he was giving me, oh!”
Those Everton fans who watched the Colombia international shine under Carlo Ancelotti during the lockdown days will surely agree with Berbatov.
Dani Carvajal has also hailed Rodriguez as the player he feels has the best left foot in football history, so the former Everton man is clearly rated very highly amongst his peers.
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Rodriguez has been with a different club every season since leaving Everton in 2021, spending the last five campaigns at Al Rayyan, Olympiacos, Sao Paulo, Rayo Vallecano and Leon.
If you were David Moyes, which three players would you want to sign in January?
However, the 34-year-old is currently unemployed after leaving Leon at the end of 2025 when his contract expired.
It means Everton have the chance to bring Rodriguez back to Merseyside on a free transfer if David Moyes feels his side are lacking a creative spark.
If the man born in Cucuta fails to find a new club before January ends, Everton can still strike a deal, as free agents can be signed even outside of transfer windows.
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