When he joined Real Madrid in 2013, Francisco Roman Alarcon Suarez, aka Isco, quickly became one of Casa Blanca’s darlings. Described as the new nugget of Spanish football, the former Malagueño also enjoyed a good rating with a coach who weighed a lot with the Merengues: Zinedine Zidane. The Frenchman has often opposed a departure from Isco, despite his supersub status. Today, the daily life of the native of Arroyo de la Miel has changed a lot. Having left Real Madrid in 2022, Isco only spent one season at Sevilla FC before finding himself unemployed. From now on, the midfielder comes to train every day at the Crys Díaz & Co center located in Madrid. And for the first time since 2018, Isco has agreed to speak to the media. It is brand who was able to collect the words of the former Merengue who seems to be doing well.
“Very good, I can’t wait to start a new project and a new experience. I want to play football, have fun, participate in competitions, show that I still have great years of football ahead of me. » In search of a new club, the Spaniard explained that he did not want to rush. “It’s true that I have proposals, but I don’t want to make a mistake or make another misstep in my career. The important thing is that the illusion remains intact. I want to play, compete, have fun and I can’t wait to come back”he said, before specifying the type of project he hopes for. “A team with a competitive project and trying to play good football. I will never prioritize money, otherwise I wouldn’t have gone to Sevilla. I have received and have received many offers from Qatar and Saudi Arabia, with large sums, but I want to play, be competitive and have fun. »
He fought with Monchi
However, this interview is not just a call to recruiters. Long before discussing his future, Isco wanted to unload a weight. A burden linked to several events that have occurred more or less recently. “A lot of things happened, a lot of things that are my fault and others that are less so. It’s good to talk once in a while to take that weight off my shoulders, that thorn in my side, and to let people know what happened. » A statement in the form of a trailer on his setbacks in Seville where his relationship with the famous Monchi (who has since left his post as sports director, editor’s note) was shattered.
“Julen (Lopetegui) is dismissed, Sampaoli arrives and that’s very good too. But when Lopetegui left and the winter transfer window approached, I saw a lot of strange things happening at the club. First, they called my agent to look for a way out, without telling me first. As soon as I found out, I went to speak directly to Monchi. I told him: “listen, I got the information, I don’t know what’s going on, I don’t know if the club wants me or not. Be honest with me and we’ll sort this out. I am at your disposal”. I don’t know what economic crisis Seville may have experienced, but after this conversation everything went wrong. (…) After this conversation, Monchi continued to say that I wanted to leave, which didn’t wasn’t true, and he started calling me and my lawyer every day, pestering us to sign the contract termination.”
Union Berlin’s dirty trick
A behavior that ended up causing a situation of total conflict. Furious at the methods of his sporting director, Isco then went to speak with Monchi. And the latter would have freaked out. “What I am about to tell you is strong. I told him he was the biggest liar I have ever met in football and he assaulted me. He approached me, took me by the neck, we had to separate. As you can understand, after that, I did not want to stay there in any way. And although I felt sorry for him, because I had a very good relationship with my teammates and the fans treated me wonderfully well, I couldn’t feel comfortable at a club where the sporting director attacks and where no one speaks or apologizes. Neither for the assault, nor for all the lies he was divulging. So I forgot my contract and left. » Marked by this difficult departure, Isco then thought to find comfort in Germany. The Spanish midfielder was to sign with Union Berlin, a club which also ended the 2022/2023 season in fourth place in the Bundesliga. But when everything was closed, the Germans canceled the operation at the last second of the 2023 winter transfer window.
“I’m responsible for a lot of things, for getting carried away on some occasions, for giving up even in training because I felt overwhelmed, but what happened in Berlin? ? It was huge. At four o’clock in the afternoon, the last day of the transfer window, Jorge Mendes calls me and tells me that he has a team for me. (…) Yes, he called me and told me that he had Union Berlin, from Germany, with a very good offer until the end of the year with the 1+1 option. I told him I would call him in five minutes and started looking a little higher and consulting. They had very good results in the Bundesliga, they were in the Europa League, the contract was good, the project looked good. So I accepted. They sent me the contract and I forwarded it to my lawyer. Everything was in order. I packed my suitcase and left for Berlin alone, because it was impossible to organize the move of the whole family in four hours, with two small children. And when I arrived, I was greeted by someone from the club. All is done. I take my photos, I salute the camera… As usual. And we made an appointment for the medical visit the next day. In the morning, in the car going to the hospital, they told me: “in the end, we cannot register you in Europe”. And I said: “it is now that you They said they tried all the way and it was not possible I passed the medical examination, which I did, although many people have questioned… A rather absurd question, since the doctors in Seville can confirm that my physical condition at that time was one of the best in my career.The fact is that I passed the exam and that at the time of sign the contract, I was called back. “Hey, finally, it’s not that sum. It’s less”. And I, for the second time, again accept these changes that were not in the prior agreement for which I flew to Germany. But ten minutes later, they call me a third time to tell me that the amount for next season is not the same as the contract and that it must be revised. That’s when I got up. J traveled with great expectation and excitement to a team that plays the Europa League and in fifteen minutes they changed half of my contract, a contract that had been accepted and reviewed by both us and them. It’s a disrespect. I’m not 18 and it’s not the first contract I sign, so I said I won’t sign like that. If in twelve hours, in Germany , all this happened, in a year, I don’t even want to think about it (…) I returned to Spain, and there I felt that after all that had happened, I had need to disconnect, to clear my head. Mentally, I wasn’t ready for another move, another project. I felt that I needed to stop, to go to therapy, to put my mind, my life, my thoughts in order. » And today, Isco is again ready to put on the crampons.
