What’s the story?
Real Madrid superstar Isco took to micro-blogging website Twitter to troll Barcelona after their 2-0 loss against Malaga. Los Blancos were held to a 1-1 draw by Atletico Madrid earlier in the day and Barcelona had the opportunity to go top of the table and put pressure on Madrid – who also have a game in hand.
However, Luis Enrique’s side suffered a shock 2-0 defeat against the 14th placed side, which put their title hopes in jeopardy. Real Madrid are now 3 points clear at the top of the table and a lot will rest on the outcome of El Clasico.
Trending
Isco, who has been heavily linked with a move to Barcelona, took to Twitter to congratulate the Andalusian outfit while mocking the Catalan giants Isco joined Real Madrid from Malaga in 2013. His tweet roughly translates to – ‘You have got balls Malaga! Congratulations’.
In case you didn’t know...
Isco had been heavily linked with a move to Barcelona in recent times. It had also been reported that the Catalan giants were willing to offer him a signing bonus of close to £20 million, if the Spaniard didn’t extend his contract with the Santiago Bernabeu outfit and signed for them.
The saga escalated after Isco posted a picture of himself with a couple of his friends, having a Barcelona-branded chips packet. This created a lot of ruckus on social media and Isco was forced to come out and clarify that he wasn’t moving to Real Madrid’s arch-rivals. He wrote: "I am not going to Barca, you tiresome people. With the photo I wanted to say we were having something to eat, with crisps. Hala Madrid."
Here is the picture that created the original controversy.
The heart of the matter
A player moving from Real Madrid to Barcelona or vice-versa is a big thing in the world of football, given the animosity between the two sides. It is a path treaded by very few players in the history of the two clubs, with the last one being legendary Portuguese winger Luis Figo, who moved to Barcelona from Real Madrid.
The Portuguese legend was welcomed with a pig’s head on his eventual return to Camp Nou.
What's next?
The La Liga title is Real Madrid’s to lose right now, given the 3 point advantage that they over Barcelona. In addition to that, Zinedine Zidane’s side also have a game in hand and if they win that, they will have a 6-point lead over the Catalan giants.
Both the teams know that El Clasico is more important that ever this year but then, once again, Madrid have the advantage as they will be hosting Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu. Neymar is also likely to miss the clash after getting sent-off in Barcelona’s loss against Malaga.
Author’s Take
Given the animosity between Real Madrid and Barcelona, it is expected that players take a dig at the opponent every now and then. Barcelona defender Gerard Pique has oft been found trolling Los Blancos, if and when they lose or something doesn’t go their way.
As long as the banter between the players is not vile or abusive, it is acceptable, after all, football is all about expressing yourself.
