Isco comments suggest he regrets not joining Manchester City and opting for Real Madrid instead, could the Spain star be on his way to the Premier League?

By Pete Jenson for MailOnline

Published: 08:54 EST, 24 April 2015 | Updated: 11:24 EST, 24 April 2015

Manchester City wanted Isco when he left Malaga two years ago but he chose Real Madrid over Manuel Pellegrini. It was a tough decision coming after his admission that the coach he had worked with on the Costa del Sol was like a footballing father to him.

Judging from comments made after Real’s midweek win over Atletico Madrid, he still harbours some regrets over that decision to not follow the manager who really gave him his big chance.

Pellegrini allowed him to star in the Champions League campaign that took Malaga all the way to the quarter-finals, where they felt only refereeing incompetence prevented them reaching the semis.

‘I am not very content, I thought I was playing well,’ was his message to Spanish television on Wednesday night after the win over Atletico. It was strange sentiment to convey with so much positivity around the club after their safe passage to the semi-finals.

Spanish midfielder Isco is unhappy with his current role and playing time at Real Madrid

Spanish midfielder Isco is unhappy with his current role and playing time at Real Madrid

Isco rarely starts for Real Madrid when all of Carlo Ancelotti's main options are fit

Isco rarely starts for Real Madrid when all of Carlo Ancelotti's main options are fit

He later tweeted: 'If we all stick together we will go further.' 

The show of solidarity was an attempt to gloss over the gut reaction after the match that revealed his sense of injustice at always being the player who sits out when everyone else is fit.

Carlo Ancelotti’s first choice front three is Gareth Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema and his preferred midfield is Toni Kroos, Luka Modric and James Rodriguez. Isco is the seventh man in that front six. And if Ancelotti persists with Sergio Ramos in midfield in Modric’s absence, Isco could even sit back on the bench when Bale returns.

If Pellegrini stays at City and Isco remains unhappy about how he only fits in at Real Madrid when there are injuries, the Premier League could appear on his horizon again.

Isco joined Real Madrid from another La Liga side Malaga in the summer of 2013

Isco joined Real Madrid from another La Liga side Malaga in the summer of 2013

The 23-year-old had a choice of Real Madrid or Manchester City, and chose the Spanish giants

The 23-year-old had a choice of Real Madrid or Manchester City, and chose the Spanish giants

It would be too much to ask him to fill Yaya Toure’s boots. Toure's great strength is the way that huge stride of his takes him up and down the pitch so quickly.

Isco is more Smart Car than juggernaut and he tends to scurry more than maraud. He would have to play as City's No 10, he wouldn't be able to drop back into the middle two as Toure can.

But at just 23 years of age, he also happens to be the player Vicente del Bosque intends to build his new Spain team around. He’s also the player the Real Madrid supporters adore perhaps more than any other, and he would be on the same wavelength as David Silva, who needs a like-minded player in a City team that has put brawn over brains with recent midfield signings.

Isco is one of Spain's new generation and Vicente del Bosque is looking to build the team around him

Isco is one of Spain's new generation and Vicente del Bosque is looking to build the team around him

Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini worked with Isco during their time at Malaga

Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini worked with Isco during their time at Malaga

Isco could still play a big part in what is left of Real Madrid’s season but with the European Championship on the horizon at the end of next season he will not want to have spent the previous campaign on the bench watching Bale, Benzema, Ronaldo, Kroos, Modric, Rodriguez and whoever else Florentino Perez signs this summer.

It would be interesting to see his response if he was asked for the second time in his career – do you want to come to Manchester City?

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