REAL MADRID star Isco celebrated his 31st birthday as an unemployed player.
The former Spanish international won a fifth Champions League with Los Blancos last season, despite not featuring in any of their European matches.
His nine-year spell at the Bernabeu eventually ended in the summer, before he joined fellow LaLiga side Sevilla.
But Isco’s contract was ripped up after just four months, with club chief Monchi stating it had been “a mistake” to sign him and “it would have been a further mistake to continue with the error”.
On Friday, the forward turned 31 as the Royal Spanish Football Federation tweeted a post dedicated to him.
They said: “🥳 We hope you have a great day and many more to come.”
READ MORE IN FOOTBALL
It remains to be seen where Isco – who is keeping in shape by employing a personal trainer – will end up following offers from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Spain.
He looked set to join Union Berlin in the January window, before the deal collapsed.
It is quite a fall from grace for the ex-Malaga protege, who joined Real in 2013 as Carlo Ancelotti’s first signing.
The playmaker hit the ground running and went on to win four Champions League titles, while his performances earned interest from Juventus, Liverpool, Manchester City and Barcelona.
Most read in Football
BETTING SPECIAL – BEST FOOTBALL BETTING SITES IN THE UK
That led to a new deal in 2017, which included a release clause worth a whopping £619million.
However, Isco quickly fell out of favour as Real stopped playing him.
It all started when Santiago Solari took over from Julen Lopetegui in 2018.
Solari preferred to use young players like Vinicius Junior and Fede Valverde instead of stars with big contracts, such as Isco.
The Spaniard had a public fallout with Solari, who then excluded him from his plans.
Things didn’t improve upon Zinedine Zidane’s return and the situation remained the same when Ancelotti came back.
Real tried to get his high salary off the payroll with a move to AC Milan in 2021, but the player wasn’t happy with the wage cut.
That led him to Sevilla under Lopetegui, who urged the club to sign him despite transfer guru Monchi’s disapproval.
However, the Spanish tactician was sacked and joined Wolves, while his successor Jorge Sampaoli quickly realised Isco didn’t fit the team, leading to his deal being terminated.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
