Why Isco snubbed Barcelona move

Real Madrid midfielder Isco signed a new five-year contract with the Spanish giants will run until the summer of 2022 with a huge release clause of £623million.

It was a long saga between Isco and Real Madrid before the midfielder signed a new deal, the former Malaga player was being monitored by Barcelona during the time of negotiations with the European Champions, the contract talks took more than the necessary time.

Isco finds it difficult to break into the first team 12 months ago with Barcelona mounting serious pressure to snatch him from the clutches of Los Blancos.

However, Gareth Bale’s fall from grace coupled with Zinedine Zidane’s faith in him has seen him become one of the first names on Real Madrid’s team sheet.

According to report in Spanish out Diario Gol, Isco turned down Barcelona offer because of Lionel Messi and he said he wanted a team with winning vibe, seeing Real Madrid dominating the Champions League having won three in the last four years and clinching the La Liga convinced him.

Additionally, he was unsure of what Messi’s status as the club would mean for him.

There is no denying that even in a star-studded team also boasting the likes of Andres Iniesta and Luis Suarez that Messi is their main man.

It is said that, in a meeting with Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu, he discovered that the team would be built around the Argentinean.

And while Isco is used to being told to get the best out of Cristiano Ronaldo, he was unwilling to take the risk.

“Maybe there was some contact, but I did not listen to them,” he said.

“My intention was to succeed here. The goals are to win a lot of titles and to become a starter.”

Real Madrid will be out against Real Sociedad on Sunday evening Isco is expected to make lineup for the Los Blancos