Rafa Benitez Reportedly Not Happy with Jese Rodriguez's 'Musical Side'

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Real Madrid winger Jese Rodriguez is reportedly putting his chances at the club in jeopardy due to his other passion in life—music.

The forward has only featured once for Los Blancos—a late substitute appearance against Athletic Club on Wednesday—since the opening day of the La Liga season, and for a player with so much ability, being utilised so little is peculiar. But according to Javier Matallanas of Spanish television show Punto Pelota (h/t Alejandro Alcazar of Sport) there is an explanation.  

"Rafa Benitez does not like the musical side of Jese," said Matallanas. "He does not like it because, although it doesn't distract him day to day, if all the players stay to eat in Valdebabas and he leaves to shoot a video clip with his group, it would not be pleasing."

Rodriguez clearly has a passion for the arts. The 22-year-old has previously appeared in a music video for the band Big Flow, as we can see here:

"

8- Only Isco (12) has scored more goals than Jesé as Spanish top scorer for Real Madrid in the last two seasons. Disc pic.twitter.com/9yEWOw2m1F

— OptaJose (@OptaJose) June 26, 2015"

As young men with a lot of time on their hands, it’s no surprise a lot of footballers are interested in music. So often we see players trudging off the team coach into the stadium with oversized headphones on, immersed in their own little worlds. For most, it plays a major part in their preparations for matches and everyday life.

Still, it’s dangerous of Jese to let his other passion overlap with football, especially when playing for one of the biggest clubs in world football. As noted here by OptaJoe, as one of the team’s most high-profile Spanish influences, he should be doing his utmost to be getting into the starting XI on a regular basis:

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But as stated by Alcazar, manger Rafael Benitez has hinted that Jese’s attitude isn’t quite up to the standard of other players, including winger Lucas Vazquez. For a player with so much talent and who has missed a lot of football after bad luck with injuries, it’d be a major shame if his mindset didn’t match his ability.

Although Jese is clearly a talented vocalist, as is evident above, football is what he should be focusing on when you consider just how far he could go in the game:

Getting into the Real team is hard, especially with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema in situ, but it’s important that Jese is ready to deputise should one of those three miss out with injury or suspension. If the winger is cutting short time with team-mates for other commitments, his position in the squad is unlikely to be enriched.

Hopefully, being pushed down the pecking order will prompt some renewed focus from the 22-year-old. After a turbulent time of things as of late, Madridistas will want to see Jese back in the side in the weeks to come and on track to fulfil the massive potential he possesses.