Luis Diaz to privately message ex-Everton star who raised major Bayern concerns
Luis Diaz plans to reach out to James Rodriguez, following the former Everton player's endorsement of his move from Liverpool to Bayern Munich. The 28-year-old recently completed a £65.5million transfer to the German giants after spending three-and-a-half years at Anfield.
During his time with the Reds, Diaz clinched a full set of domestic honours that included two EFL Cup, an FA Cup and the Premier League title last season. Now seeking a fresh challenge, he is gearing up for his debut season in Germany, tracing the path of Rodriguez who admits he didn't always enjoy his two-season loan stint in Bavaria between 2017 and 2019.
Rodriguez, now 34 and playing for Club Leon in Mexico, voiced his support for Diaz's decision to swap Merseyside for Munich. And Diaz, who is only the third Colombian to play for Bayern, following Rodriguez and Adolfo Valencia, said that he will reach out to his more senior compatriot.
"About James, I haven't spoken much with him," Diaz told local German media. "Maybe I'll write to him to see what advice he has for me about the city, the team and everything else. But so far I haven't had the chance to talk to him."
Rodriguez is confident Diaz will impress in the Bundesliga and help continue their dominance of German football. Speaking to LaBolaSports after his team's 2-0 defeat to New York City FC in the Leagues Cup, he said: "I think Lucho made the right choice. Bayern signed a great player, and Lucho is made for big teams. It's a great club, and he'll help them a lot."
Rodriguez's loan spell at Bayern did deliver three major trophies, including two Bundesliga crowns, but he confessed he was never settled at the club owing to struggles with the language and the harsh climate.
"First, the cold," he said on Daniel Habif's podcast in 2020. "Then, they are very cold people, although I received spectacular treatment at the club, they liked me a lot. Living there is not easy; it's very cold, -20 degrees. There were days when I would go to work at 9am, start up the car, and it would be -28 degrees.
"I'd say, 'What am I doing here? What am I doing here with -28 degrees?' Munich is a city with a very high quality of life, but I couldn't feel comfortable... the (German) language was very hard for me; I didn't have any desire to learn it.
"I told my (German) teacher in those first four months, 'Look, I'm not going to waste your time and I'm not going to waste mine. I don't want to, I don't want to, I don't want to. I don't want a language that doesn't make me want to learn it; I just didn't want to.'"
James returned to Madrid in 2019 but only made a mere 14 appearances in what turned out to be his final season in Spain, where he won eight honours, including two La Liga titles and two Champions League titles.
The chance to reunite with Carlo Ancelotti led the Colombian to sign for Everton, albeit for just one season, before he left for the Qatar Stars League with Al-Rayyan.
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