Francisco “Isco” Alarcon is reportedly on the outs at Real Madrid as the new manager, Santiago Solari, has used him sparingly.
Everything appeared to be looking up for Isco late last season. Despite not fully counting with the support from then-manager Zinedine Zidane, Isco, alongside Luka Modric, became an integral part to Real Madrid winning their third Champions League in a row. When Zidane left and Julen Lopetegui took over, the consensus was that it would finally be Isco’s time to shine.
Under Zidane, Isco was not the first choice which was a reversal when he played he played for the national team. With Spain, under Lopetegui, he was the heir apparent to the likes of Xavi and Iniesta. The player himself said in that he felt more confident with Spain because “here he had the confidence of the coach.”
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However, things went wrong quickly for Lopetegui as Real Madrid manager. He was sacked after a 5-1 loss in the Clasico against Barcelona and was replaced by the aforementioned Solari. In the seven games with Solari in charge, he has yet to start in any of them even in a depleted Real Madrid side. He was left out altogether in their Champions League game away to Roma and came in as a substitute in their last league game versus Valencia.
While Solari claims that the lack of minutes for the player is due to sporting reasons, Marca reported that one of the reasons he was left out of the game against Roma was because Isco refused to shake his hand in the 3-0 loss against Eibar.
All that being said, it should come as no surprise that the rumours of an exit from Real Madrid have taken shape. Premiere league clubs like Manchester City, Tottenham, and Chelsea have already been linked with the player. Juventus have also been linked but any club that wants to pry Isco out of Real Madrid won’t have it easy.
Madrid will not sell Isco unless the club who wants him pays out his release clause in full. The roadblock there for the interested sides is that his release clause is worth €700 million. Despite the riches of the Premier League and Juventus, that is an exorbitant amount of money to pay and one that Madrid are not likely to receive.
If Isco wants out, it will be up to the player to push for a move to force his club to negotiate that release clause. This is not the first time he’s had doubts over his future at the club but it appears that this time, an exit is more likely to occur.