Real Madrid playmaker Isco rejected the chance to sign for Tottenham in consecutive transfer windows despite a charm offensive from Mauricio Pochettino, according to AS.
The Spanish publication claim that Spurs manager Pochettino tried to persuade the 25-year-old in the summer of 2016 to move to north London and made a fresh attempt in January of this year.
AS report that Isco rejected the Argentine’s overtures on both occasions as he wanted to nail down a regular first-team spot at the Bernabeu.
The Spain international was down the pecking order at Real in January and 15 months ago but he played a crucial role at the end of last season as Real became the first club to secure back-to-back Champions League titles.
Isco, who was also part of the club’s 2014 European triumph, is set to start from the outset when Spurs face Real at the Bernabeu in Tuesday’s Champions League showdown.
OPINION
Isco was fully vindicated in rejecting Pochettino on both occasions. At the time, there was a lot of speculation surrounding the attacking midfielder’s future as he was in and out of the highly competitive Real team despite his flashes of excellence. Although he had to bide his time, the Spaniard has evolved into an integral member of the squad and his performances have seen him develop into the natural hair of all-time great Andres Iniesta in the Spain national team. It was a blow to Tottenham, as Isco is so accomplished, he could have been the difference in the Premier League run-in last season as well as the FA Cup semi-final defeat to Chelsea.