'If I'd had more chances at United or Real, I'd probably have been the star'

Bayer Leverkusen striker Javier Hernandez says he was not given enough chances to shine during his spells at Manchester United and Real Madrid.

The 28-year-old Mexico international left United for Leverkusen last August and racked up 17 goals in 28 league appearances to help guide the German club to third place in the Bundesliga and secure a spot in next season's Champions League.

"The difference is that Leverkusen want me on the pitch. The others didn't," Hernandez said in an interview for the July edition of football magazine FourFourTwo.

Hernandez scored 59 goals in 85 starts in all competitions after joining United in 2010, but was farmed out to Spanish giants Real Madrid for the 2014-15 season by former United manager Louis van Gaal.

He scored nine goals during his spell in Spain, but once again found it tough to get an extended run of games and ended up making 12 starts in all competitions for the La Liga club.

"If I'd had more chances at United or Real, I'd probably have been 'the star' there as well -- we'll never know. I didn't have the chance," he added.

"I never had the chance to play 20 games in a row so people could say: 'He's a good player who should stay' or 'He can't be the star - he's not a good player.'"

Hernandez scored the winner in Mexico's 1-0 friendly win over Chile in the team's final warm-up game ahead of the Copa America Centenario, which starts on Friday.

Image: Javier Hernandez

Photograph: Alex Livesey/Getty Images