?Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has confirmed that midfielder
?Rodríguez has not been able to get the regular playing time that he would have wanted at ?Bayern, failing to start more than 20 league games in either of his two seasons.
Rummenigge has now said that
“In principle the decision was made because he came to me before the end of the season and asked me not to activate the option [to buy him],” he told ?Sport Bild (as quoted by ?Goal). “Activating the option now against his will makes no sense.”
The Colombia international does not seem to have a long-term future at ?Real either and is being ?linked with a reunion with former manager Carlo Ancelotti at ?Napoli.
Rodríguez announced himself on the world stage at the 2014 World Cup where put in a series of scintillating performances, guiding Colombia to the quarter-finals. He won the Golden Boot in the tournament and was named in the World Cup Dream Team as well as winning the Goal of the Tournament award.
His displays attracted the attention of some of the biggest clubs in Europe and in July 2014 he moved to Real Madrid for approximately £63m.
He enjoyed a strong debut season in Spain, scoring 14 goals and providing 15 assists in 38 appearances in all competitions. He was named in the ?La Liga Team of the Season and won the La Liga Best Midfielder Award.
The following campaign he found opportunities hard to come by after Zinedine Zidane took the reigns at the club.
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