Rafa Benítez made a promise to Salomón Rondón in China when they both belonged to Dalian Yifang: he would sign him if he would ever return to Europe. Now the promise has been kept, as Rondón is now back to the Premier League. He will now play his first season in the elite after joining the Asian team in July 2019 from Newcastle.
The Venezuelan has not hesitated to show his respect for Rafa Benítez right away: “I have known Rafa for four years and he changed the way I understand the game and showed me things that I had not seen in my 10 years of career: how to enter the box, movements that benefit the team and ways to take advantage of the defense”.
This statement explains his greatly performing at St James’ Park. He only played for the 18-19 season, but he earned the love of the ‘Geordies’ thanks to his scoring ability and sacrifice for his teammates. Salomón Rondón was a leader on the field and he was even awarded as the best player of the team during that campaign.
“The dream is coming true, I wanted to go back to the Premier League – and it is with Everton, a big club with a special history in football”. Rondón has expressed his desire to support the team both as a starter or through a secondary rol.
The truth is that at the age of 32 he has now a new opportunity to enjoy football in the best league in the world. He will do so once again under coach Rafa Benítez. Will they be able to succeed as they did together at Newcastle United?
Translated by Guillermo Bermejo.