Isco ready to walk out on Real over lack of first team chances
Bale set for more minutes against Valencia today as he continues his recovery from ankle surgery
Spain international Isco will look to leave Real Madrid in the summer after growing tired of a lack of first team opportunities with the European champions, Spanish media reported on Tuesday.
Spanish sports daily Marca reported that the midfielder, who cast doubt on his future at the club on Saturday, is unhappy with his role in the team this campaign, citing information coming from the player’s representatives.
Isco has started 11 of 21 games in La Liga and only one in the Champions League.
Marca reported the 24-yearold was also unhappy with Real Madrid’s offer of an improved salary in negotiations to renew his contract and that he wants to move to the Premier League, with Manchester City his number one choice. Isco scored a crucial goal in Real’s 3-1 at Osasuna on February 11 but was left out of the team in Wednesday’s 3-1 win over Napoli in Europe’s elite competition.
He is ranked 15th in the squad for the number of minutes played this season and rarely starts when coach Zinedine Zidane has a full squad available.
The Spaniard, however, played a starring role in Saturday’s 2-0 victory over Espanyol on Saturday, setting up goalscorers Alvaro Morata and Gareth Bale, but after the game said he was uncertain whether he would remain at the club beyond the summer.
“I’m calm but I’m concerned about the number of minutes I am playing because the career of a player is very short,” he told BeIN sports.
Real play one of the two La Liga games they currently have in hand when they travel to play Valencia in the Mestalla Stadium tonight, kick-off 9.45pm UAE time.
Madrid travel with a onepoint lead over Barcelona after the comfortable win over Espanyol on Saturday afternoon in which Zidane was able to rest Luka Modric, Karim Benzema, Marcelo and Sergio Ramos.
Bale returned against Espanyol after 88 days out recovering from an ankle operation and was able to celebrate his recovery with Madrid’s second goal as he played his first 20 minutes football in almost three months. The Welshman said afterwards he still needed time to be back to his best and can expect to play another 30-45 minutes on Wednesday night.
The Valencia game was originally to be played on December 18, but was postponed due to Real Madrid participating in the World Club Championships.