James Rodriguez Form Blamed on Real Madrid, Rafael Benitez by Faustino Asprilla

Former Colombia forward Faustino Asprilla has blasted the treatment of his compatriot James Rodriguez by Real Madrid and former manager Rafael Benitez, insisting the latter has an agenda against players from his nation. 

Rodriguez has come in for a lot of criticism this season for some uneven performances. Alvaro de la Rosa of AS claimed that Los Blancos are looking for summer suitors for the playmaker after being unimpressed with his decline in form and requests for a bump in salary.

While the result has seen manager Zinedine Zidane take responsibility away from Rodriguez, Asprilla feels as though the opposite approach is needed to get the best from the 24-year-old, per Marca:

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At Real Madrid they are not giving him the importance that he needs. He's a young man with too much talent but James hasn't been shown the love that he needs at his club. When he was playing under Ancelotti, the player showed his true value. He's not been able to demonstrate it this season because they don't give him the special treatment that all players need at their clubs.

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Marco Luzzani/Getty Images

His form on the international stage has certainly exceeded his efforts in La Liga this season. That much has been evident during the recent international break, when Rodriguez scored this tremendous goal for Colombia against Bolivia in World Cup Qualifying, per RMadridHome:

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James Rodriguez's goal for Colombia today. pic.twitter.com/MeEIk8qona

— RMadridHome (@RMadridHome) March 24, 2016"

Rodriguez also received support from Isco recently, who De la Rosa suggested will also be sold by the club at the end of the season, with question marks surrounding his attitude. “It's been a very difficult season, but I don't think everything that happens to Real Madrid is the fault of James and me,” said the Spaniard while on international duty, per EFE (h/t Sport).

Asprilla agreed with that assessment and has claimed a bias held by Benitez against Colombians has contributed to Rodriguez’s deterioration in form:

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I sincerely believe that Benitez has something against Colombians, it's the only way to explain his actions towards my compatriots. 

James came off of the back of having an exceptional campaign in his first season at the club, this man arrives and he's sent to the bench. Although I don't think it's because of his footballing stance, he already marginalised the Colombians [Juan] Zuniga and Duvan Zapata at Napoli.

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Ian MacNicol/Getty Images

Benitez was dismissed by Real Madrid earlier this season after losing ground on Barcelona and Atletico Madrid in the race for the title.

As these statistics show, Rodriguez has been inconsistent this term when compared to 2014-15:

	2014/15	2015/16
Apps (Sub)	29	13 (6)
Goals	13	5
Assists	13	6
Shots per game	1.8	1.5
Key passes per game	2.7	2.4
Dribbles per game	1	0.7
Passing accuracy	87.2 %	86 %

Spanish football expert Rafael Hernandez also picked up on what he feels to be poor attitude from the Colombia star:

For Real to lose such a talented player at the end of the season would be a huge shame, but something seems skewed in the relationship between the footballer and the club at the moment. With Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City all keen on Rodriguez, according to De la Rosa, Los Blancos could fetch a large sum for his services.

Benitez arguably could have handled the playmaker better, although suggestions of his bias against Colombians from Asprilla are without basis. The onus is now on Rodriguez to prove to Zidane that he’s befitting of the prestigious No. 10 jersey at this massive football club and ensure he’s a regular fixture in this setup for the remainder of the campaign and beyond.