Real Madrid playmaker Isco Alarcon is just 26 days away from adding ‘former’ to that title. The midfielder has been at the Santiago Bernabeu for nine trophy-filled years, but with no desire from either party to renew his contract, appears to be leaving Madrid for free this summer.
Plenty of teams are interested in him, but the main sticking point seems to be whether they can afford him. According to Sport, the former Malaga player is set on receiving something in the range of the €7m he was getting at Real Madrid each year.
As it stands though, neither of Real Betis nor Sevilla will be able to meet those demands. The two Seville sides have been most closely linked with Isco in La Liga, which is where he wants to be.
Valencia have also been linked, yet it seems more likely he would be able to receive such a salary abroad, possibly at Roma. The problem Isco faces is that at 30 years of age and having been without regular football for several seasons, clubs may be reluctant to take a financial risk on him. His talent has never been in doubt, but there is little evidence from recent years that he can be a transformative signing.