Bundesliga: Former Bayern Munich captain Stefan Effenberg urges James Rodriguez to leave Bayern in search of game time

Berlin: Former Bayern Munich captain Stefan Effenberg has said that Colombian star James Rodriguez should leave the club in order to pick up more game time. [caption id=“attachment_6559841” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of James Rodriguez. Reuters[/caption] “James should recognise that the right path for him is to leave Bayern,” wrote Effenberg in his column for the German news website T-online on Thursday. The 27-year-old Colombian joined Bayern from Real Madrid in 2017, on a two-year loan deal which expires at the end of this season. Bayern have the option to buy Rodriguez permanently for 42 million euros ($47.1m), but the midfielder has not been a first-team regular under Niko Kovac this season. Rodriguez has started on the bench in 11 of his 24 league appearances this season, and has only played the full 90 minutes on three occasions. “He has to play and enjoy his football, but he cannot do that if he is only allowed to play seven, 10, 12 or 15 minutes at a time,” wrote Effenberg. Effenberg, 50, who captained Bayern to Champions League glory in 2001, said that he also did not think Rodriguez should return to Real Madrid when his loan deal ends. “Maybe he should think of something completely new, because it will be difficult for him to get regular appearances at Real Madrid as well,” he wrote. Rodriguez is a doubt for Bayern’s Bundesliga clash with bottom club Hanover on Saturday, after he picked up a muscle injury in last Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Nuremberg.