Isco has revealed the reasons behind his decision to stay at Real Madrid in the summer, despite being strongly linked with Tottenham Hotspur.
The 24-year-old Spain international has been struggling to get into the Real Madrid starting eleven since towards the end of last season, and this season he has so far been a bit-part player.
Real Madrid were claimed to be keen to offload him in the summer, and Tottenham were interested in snapping him up towards the end of the transfer window, but Isco blocked any transfer away from the Bernabeu.
The midfielder conceded that Zinedine Zidane made it clear that he could struggle to get into the team, but Isco is keen to keep fighting in order to win his place back in the starting eleven at Real Madrid.
On his decision to stay at Real Madrid, Isco told Marca: “Zidane told me it was going to be difficult for me to get into the starting eleven, but I accepted the challenge.
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“I am not going to give up so easily.”
The Spaniard joined Real Madrid from Malaga in 2013, and has clocked up 154 appearances for Los Blancos.
He has also earned 14 international caps for Spain, and has been called up to the senior squad again for the country's upcoming internationals, despite his limited opportunities at Real Madrid this season.
