One of the standout players of the European Under-21 Championships in Israel, Spain midfielder Isco is set to become the subject of a €35m summer tug-of-war between Real Madrid and Manchester City. For a player who as a teenager was considered too small to make it in the professional ranks, it has been nothing short of a meteoric rise, as the Malaga playmaker now considers his options.
Born April 1992 in Benalmadena-Costa, a tourist municipality 12 kilometres to the west of Malaga, Isco’s formative years were spent with local club Atletico Benamiel and it was not long before the big clubs came calling, with Barcelona, Valencia, Espanyol and Real Madrid all knocking on his door. Yet, as Salvador Burgos his youth team Coach at Benamiel recalled, there were some early doubts over Isco’s physique.
“Despite being so small we could already see the difference between him and the rest. As a child he played in midfield and was a little underweight, but we always pitted him against older lads as he wouldn’t have progressed with boys his own age.
“We were champions in every age group he played for us and even people who were not Benamiel fans came to see him as he had a lovely attitude and never thought he’d lose or play poorly,” reflects Burgos.
In the end, it was Valencia that decided to take a chance on the 14-year-old and after coming through Los Che’s youth system he appeared for his country at the 2009 Under-17 World Cup in Nigeria, scoring three times as Spain finished third. It was not long before his form with Valencia’s B side earned a call-up to Unai Emery’s first-team squad, and he marked his debut against Logrones in November 2010 with two goals in a 4-1 Copa del Rey win.
Three days later he made his first start in La Liga, playing 20 minutes in 2-0 defeat of Getafe after coming on as a substitute for Aritz Aduriz, and he made a further three appearances that season. However, having scored 15 goals and helped Valencia’s second string to return to La Tercera, Isco signed a five-year deal in mid-July 2011 that took him back home to local club Malaga, after they activated a €6m buy-out clause in his contract.
A summer spent representing Spain’s Under-20 team at the Colombian World Cup, where he netted once in an eventual quarter-final exit, was followed by a first goal for his new club in a 3-1 away victory at Racing Santander in November, and one week later he notched again in a 2-1 win over Villarreal. Isco went on to finish an impressive first season at La Rosaleda by netting five goals in 32 games as Los Blanquiazules qualified for the Champions League for the first time in the club’s history.
It was to prove a pivotal point in his development as in September 2012 he shot to prominence with two superb goals against Zenit Saint Petersburg in a 3-0 group stage win. Three months after that, the first goal in an eventual 3-2 home win over Real Madrid – Malaga’s first triumph over their opponents in 29 years – was followed by his naming as Golden Boy of 2012, beating Milan’s Stephan El Shaarawy and Thibaut Courtois of Atletico Madrid.
In January 2013 Isco delayed speculation by signing a new Malaga deal, even as it appeared a move by the club to raise the asking price on any future transfer, with his release clause increased from €21m to €35m. His stock continued to rise on the pitch even further in February with a full Spanish debut, playing the final 30 minutes of a 3-1 friendly win over Uruguay in Qatar, after which he grabbed the opener in a 2-0 home win over Porto that was good enough to qualify Malaga for the last eight of the Champions League.
Nonetheless, with Malaga undergoing serious economic difficulties, Isco confirmed last week he had received offers from Madrid and Manchester City and is likely to make known his future intentions when he returns from a summer holiday. It is reported that former Malaga boss Manuel Pellegrini wants to take him to the Etihad Stadium, while Los Blancos’ would-be assistant Coach/director of football Zinedine Zidane has urged club President Florentino Perez to make his signing a priority.
Asked about the overtures made by the two clubs, Isco says whatever he decides he wants to continue enjoying his football.
“Those are the two that have shown most interest. I hope to decide soon because I still have a contract at Malaga. I know that Manchester City and Real Madrid are huge clubs and I hope whatever I choose will be best for both me and Malaga.
“Yes, there are offers on the table but all I want to do is play football wherever I go and enjoy myself.”
