James Rodriguez voted 'ideal lover': 5 things about the Colombian football star

Baby-faced James Rodriguez has been voted the "ideal lover" by Colombian women in a survey by AshleyMadison.com. -- PHOTO: AFP
Baby-faced James Rodriguez has been voted the "ideal lover" by Colombian women in a survey by AshleyMadison.com. -- PHOTO: AFP

Baby-faced James Rodriguez has been voted the "ideal lover" by Colombian women in a survey by AshleyMadison.com.

About 41 per cent of the 3,100 women surveyed named the 23-year-old Real Madrid star as the perfect partner for an extra-marital affair, describing the footballer as "attractive, athletic and reserved".

Rodriquez is no stranger to fame, after his World Cup exploits and multi-million-dollar transfer from Monaco to Real Madrid last year. We take a look at other things about the player.

1) Scored a goal so good that more than 1 million voted it the Goal of the Year

Sometimes, you score a goal that's good. Less often, you score one that's great. When all the stars align, maybe you score one that 1.38 million people say is the best goal of the year.

That's what happened to Rodriguez's stunning turn and volley against Uruguay in the 2014 World Cup. It won 42 per cent of the 3.3 million votes cast by fans to win Fifa's Puskas Award, capping off a successful year for the star.

2) Inspired what some said was worst headline ever

Rodriguez's exploits at the World Cup attracted countless headlines across the globe, including one that was panned across the Internet for being possibly the worst headline ever.

"The name is Bond, James Rodriguez" read one Indian newspaper, referring to the fact that Rodriguez was named after famous fictional spy James Bond.

The Independent called it the worst catchphrase of all time, while The Huffington Post UK said it was "awful".

3) Is a fan of basketball star LeBron James, and the feeling is mutual

Apart from a common name, Rodriguez and basketball star LeBron James share a burgeoning appreciation for each other.

Rodriguez posted on Instagram two years ago a picture of himself in a Miami Heat jersey with the name James and the number six on the back, which is what James wore during his time in the National Basketball Association team.

James took his time to repay the love, tweeting during last year's World Cup that he found his favourite player at the tournament:

4) He's also an engineer

Rodriguez managed to squeeze together enough time, in between winning three Portuguese league titles and a Europa League crown, to study computer engineering while at Porto.

He was following in the footsteps of his stepfather Juan Carlos Restrepo, an engineer, who brought the boy up after his biological father left home when Rodriguez was just three.

5) His wife's a talented sportsperson too


James Rodriguez with wife Daniela Ospina at the Fifa Ballon d'Or 2014 awards ceremony at the Kongresshaus in Zurich on Jan 12, 2015. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

Rodriguez's wife Daniela Ospina plays volleyball for a Madrid club, reported the Daily Mail.

The 22-year-old is a former Colombian beach volleyball international, who put her sporting career on hold for her husband. She could not play volleyball while he was at Monaco, and she took some time off after giving birth to the couple's daughter before returning to the court.

Sporting talent seems to run in her family. Her brother David, a goalkeeper, recently made his English Premier League debut for Arsenal.

dshea@sph.com.sg

Sources: BBC, FourFourTwo, Daily Mail, Marca

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