(Football news) In the summer of 2013, Real Madrid signed Golden boy award winner Isco for €30 million. He would become Carlo Ancelotti's first ever signing for Real Madrid. Now again under Carlo Ancelotti, Isco will play his last season at Real Madrid. The Spaniard’s contract with Real Madrid is set to expire at the end of the season and Real Madrid have no intentions of renewing the deal as the player has only played 358 minutes in all competitions this season.
Isco's Real Madrid career has been good in patches throughout these 9 years. He never managed to break into the midfield ahead of the likes of Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, Casemiro, Sami Kedira, Angel Di Maria and Xabi Alonso. Isco did play in the front 3 occasionally and excelled in that role. He started the 2017 and 2018 UCL finals in the front line as well. 2017/18 was personally his best season as a Madrid player. Playing 9 years at Real Madrid shows that Isco has definitely not been a failure per se but he never reached the talisman status at the club. There were certain periods where he looked unstoppable but his form would eventually drop. He was often accused of being unfit and overweight especially in the later stages.
Now at the age of 30, the Spaniard is all set for a new challenge. Real Betis is said to be interested in securing his signature. The signing would be good for Betis who after winning the Copa del Rey this season will have ambitions of pushing further in Europe and who better to join the club than someone who has won 4 UCL trophies. According to reports in Spain, Betis are prepared to make Isco their highest paid player. The link-up between Isco and Nabil Fekir will be nothing short of magical if everything goes right.
Isco is at the stage of his career where he needs to do something really special to match the heights he once achieved at Real Madrid. He hasn't been a regular player for at least 2 seasons now, despite having plenty of chances to break into the team. This season, he has fallen behind youngsters Eduardo Camavinga and Fede Valverde. Real Madrid need just 1 point to win the La Liga title which means that Isco could get some game time to prove his worth and attract more offers from other clubs.
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