Everton have confirmed that they signed James Rodriguez on a free transfer.
Rodriguez reunited with Carlo Ancelotti in moving to Goodison Park last summer from Real Madrid but the fee involved was not publicised at the time.
However director of football Marcel Brands verified earlier reports in the playmaker’s native South America which claimed Real received no payment.
Addressing shareholders at the Blues’ virtual General Meeting on Thursday, Brands said: “In total we signed six new players [last summer].
“Three on permanent transfers – Allan, [Abdoulaye] Doucoure and [Ben] Godfrey.
“One of a free transfer, James Rodríguez, one on a training compensation, [Niels] Nkounkou, and one loan without a loan fee, Robin Olsen.
“During this window we spent a little bit more than £60 million. We saw 15 players leave who brought in £6m which brings our net spend to £54m.”
Despite the modest outlay in the previous transfer window, Brands admitted Everton making further additions in the January market is unlikely to happen.
He added: “We don’t expect to sign new players in this window.
“In previous years we only signed young Jarrad Branthwaite in January.
“We are still working to offload some players for new challengers in their careers.”
Coincidentally, Branthwaite completed a half-season loan move to Blackburn Rovers at the same time that shareholders were being briefed by Brands.
The defender has spent large parts of the current campaign in the under-23 setup with a sole senior outing in September’s Carabao Cup win over Salford.
“I’ve been pushing to get this done, to have the opportunity to come to such a good club and play football, it’s something I can’t wait to do now,” Branthwaite told Rovers’ official website.
“I heard about the move a couple of weeks ago when I was looking to get away on loan.
“Everton have four unbelievable centre backs and I wasn’t going to get game time. So I felt this was the perfect move for me and I’m just so pleased we could get it done.
“This was a no-brainer, this is the club I wanted to come to. It’s the right decision from me and Everton feel it’s the right decision as well, so it’s perfect for all parties.
“Once you get a taste of first team football it’s something that’s addictive, something you want more of.
“Hopefully, by me coming here, I can get more minutes and develop further as a player.”