A SERIAL winner, a 38-cap international, boasting more Champions League titles than Lionel Messi and still in his prime years.
Also… unemployed.
AFPLionel Messi has won three Champions League titles – fewer than a recently-released former LaLiga rival[/caption]
Once upon a time, the skilful midfielder was one of the most-sought-after stars in Europe.
The Spain star, still only 30, is one of the most-decorated players in world football.
And yet, at the conclusion of the January transfer window, he finds himself without a club.
The man in question: former Real Madrid maestro Isco.
Part of Valencia’s talent factory of the 00s, Isco made his name at Malaga before securing a massive move to Real Madrid in 2013.
In nine years at the Bernabeu, the midfielder contributed to over 100 goals in 353 games.
Isco won a staggering five Champions League crowns, as well as three LaLiga titles until he departed in 2022, joining Sevilla.
The 2012 Golden Boy was once on the radar of every Premier League “Big Six” side.
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AFP or licensorsIsco won four Champions League crowns with Real Madrid during his nine-year stay[/caption]
APIsco lasted just four months – playing only 14 LaLiga matches – at Sevilla[/caption]
But interest cooled in his later Los Blancos years, with Sevilla taking a chance on him in August 2022.
After just four months and only 14 LaLiga games, his contract was terminated.
On deadline day, Isco was on the brink of a free transfer to Bundesliga high-flyers Union Berlin.
But the deal collapsed as the club cryptically claimed: “We have our limits.”
Fabrizio Romano has since revealed the “deal collapsed because financial conditions of the deal changed after the medical tests.”
According to Spanish pundit Anton Meana, the late shock is a blessing in disguise for Union Berlin.
Meana brutally claimed: “I think Isco would have been a problem for Union.
“I don’t think Isco is up to that level of football, I don’t think he suits the Bundesliga, and even less so Union Berlin.
“I think that Union have come out of this winning from all of the noise this generated on social media.”
As a result, Isco currently finds himself unemployed.
He has been linked with a move to Turkey – with the transfer window open until February 8.
But for now, the man who was one of Spain’s brightest young talents faces the very real possibility of being tossed on the scrapheap.