The Bayern Munich legend thinks it'd be best for the 20-year-old to try to make a name for himself with another club, with the hope of coming back to Bavaria in the future.

CHARLOTTE -- Believe it or not, there was a short period of time when Julian Green was the man at Bayern Munich. Manuel Neuer, Philipp Lahm and Co. were pushed to the side, as the young American midfielder was the talk of the team for about two weeks in the summer prior to the 2014-15 season.

It was during Bayern's U.S. tour nearly two years ago that was highlighted with a match against the MLS All-Stars. Green, coming off a goal in his only appearance for the U.S. national team during the 2014 World Cup, was called up to participate in Bayern's tour throughout the U.S. Was this the moment Green was finally going to break into the first team?

No, not at all.

In fact, Green was likely with the team only for the fact he was Bayern's only American player during a time the club was beginning to make a push into the American market. He was eventually loaned to Hamburger SV for the 2014-15 campaign and failed to impress for the Bundesliga side, appearing in just five matches for the first team and eventually being demoted to the reserve squad in Germany's fourth division.

Green's Bayern career, which began when he was a youth player in 2010, appears to be coming to an end after another year rooting for the first team from the stands. If he finally moves on, the 20-year-old will have played in a total of two meaningful games (both in the Champions League) for Bayern since turning pro in 2013.

So what's next for Green? Should he look for a loan or transfer away from Bayern? A quick glance at the team's roster would suggest he has zero chance of making any sort of impact at the club in the foreseeable future. With Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Muller in their primes and Kingsley Coman bursting onto the scene last season, there's no hope for Green to play at the highest level should he remain with the club.

Bayern legend Paul Breitner agrees.

"His problem is that we have the best squad in the world and for a player like him and some other young players it's very difficult to become one of the first 11," the German World Cup hero told Goal USA. "It's very hard.

"He should go on a loan and maybe he can come back after two or three years the same way as Philipp Lahm and Toni Kroos," he continued. "We have some examples with it happening because the young players must play every Saturday. They cannot improve sitting on the bench. It's improving by doing, by playing, not by watching."

Breitner, speaking to Goal USA ahead of Bayern's 2016 tour, echoes the words of U.S. national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann, who just so happens to have a resume similiar to Breitner with some magical World Cup moments of his own for Germany along with playing at the club level with Bayern. Klinsmann encourages players to search for minutes rather than chase the big-time European club dream, which seems to be Green's issue at the moment.

Paul Breitner's busy US schedule continued today in Charlotte with a @GoalUSA interview about the #AudiFCBTour. pic.twitter.com/XbEdFoQBlv — FC Bayern US (@FCBayernUS) May 18, 2016

However, one thing Green does have going for him is the fact that he played his youth years in Europe while most Americans are brought up in either Major League Soccer's youth academies or went the college route, which has been heavily criticized for the lack of player development. According to Breitner, you should know if a player has what it takes by 12 years old, and the United States is not the right place to begin a career.

That could expain why Klinsmann has turned to German-Americans - like Green - to fill his rosters over the years.

"That's the idea," Breitner said. "The idea is that you have to send your youngsters at the age of 13, 14 or 15 to Europe. You don't want to send your international players at the age of 24 or 25 to Europe. Send your youngsters, and many of them. You have a lot of high-talented players [in the United States] and I know it. Give them, as many as possible, the chance to develop in Europe and they'll come back with the right ideas. They'll come back with the successful ideas to their teams and to soccer in general."

Green's ahead of the game. He knows what it's like to be around Bundesliga and Champions League champions. He's trained with some of the biggest names in the world. He's dedicated his life to playing on the highest level of European soccer from an early age, but he has too much competition to get on the field with Bayern.

It's time for him to bring his talents elsewhere - anywhere but MLS that is. Well, unless it's for an All-Star game with a team that brings him along for the ride because he's a valuable piece to the puzzle on the pitch rather than just a marketing tool off of it.