What’s the story?
In FC Barcelona’s latest attempt to sign Spanish playmaker Isco, the club have decided to offer the player a signing bonus of around 20 million Euros the moment his Real Madrid contract expires.
The report comes from ‘El Pais’ journalist Diego Torres who told RAC1 that the player has already received the offer. Isco is yet to sign a new contract with Real Madrid and has seen his playing time dwindle over the past season.
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The idea is to ensure that they don’t have to pay over the top at the end of next year given he will be signed from a direct a rival. The rumored ‘Anti-Barcelona’ clause would also become void given he would be a free agent.
In case you didn’t know...
Isco left Malaga in 2013 and has been a Real Madrid player for 4 years. In that time he has managed 41 assists and 28 goals across 179 appearances in all competitions. If we discount the number of substitute appearances he has made, he has contributed a goal or assists in every other game so far.
The heart of the matter
Barcelona have been after Isco for some time now. They even wanted to sign him back in 2013 but the player chose to sign for Real Madrid. He was arguably the best talent around at that time but somehow he still can’t find a place in Real Madrid’s first team.
Given how Barcelona and Real Madrid are arch rivals and have a nasty history of players switching between the two teams. To avoid all that, Real Madrid have come up with an ‘anti-Barcelona’s clause in their contracts.
But there is not enough evidence to prove that this is true. In any case, Barcelona are looking to avoid all of that by signing him once his contract is up. The 20 million Euros offer on the table would be distributed over a period of 5 years.
What’s next?
Isco will have to make a decision. Either try and force a move away from the club this summer to a club other than Barcelona so he can get regular football next season. Or take his chances and stay for one last season with Real Madrid with the risk of not getting enough opportunities.
Author’s take
This could actually be a ploy that Isco could use to get an improved contract from Real Madrid. At the same time, if he wants to be a part of Spain’s World Cup campaign in 2018 he will need regular game time which means a move this summer.
