Former Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti believes James Rodriguez has made the right choice to stay and fight for his place at the Bernabeu.
Rodriguez, 25, was linked with Premier League clubs Chelsea and Arsenal this summer after a difficult campaign in Spain which saw him start just 20 games in total in La Liga and the Champions League.
"To play at Real Madrid is not easy because there is a lot of competition," Ancelotti, now in charge at Bayern Munich, told AS. "But I'm a little bit surprised [by Rodriguez's lack of playing time].
"There are times when not everything comes out how you would like to. You can have problems one year. The important thing for a player is to continue to fight, even if you don't play in every game. He is still young."
Rodriguez won the Golden Boot at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and joined Ancelotti's Real in an €80 million move from Monaco. He featured in 44 games in his debut season for the club, scoring 17 goals and providing 16 assists.
However, last season under both Rafa Benitez and his replacement Zinedine Zidane, the Colombia international became marginalised, a situation which was not helped by a thigh injury which saw him miss two months early in the campaign.
He has yet to start for Real this season, playing 36 minutes in substitute appearances against Real Sociedad and Celta Vigo. He has Casemiro, Lucas Vazquez and Marco Asensio ahead of him in the pecking order.
Rodriguez scored Colombia's opener and set up the second in a 2-0 win over Venezuela in last Thursday's World Cup qualifier. He then impressed in a 2-1 defeat to Brazil on Tuesday.
"I always try to help whether I play or not," Rodriguez said, as reported in AS. "I work in order to have an opportunity [to play]."