Madrid: Former Real Madrid and Sevilla midfielder Isco has signed a one-year contract with Sevilla’s bitter local rivals Real Betis. His arrival will help cover the loss of Sergio Canales after the club accepted an offer from Mexican outfit Monterrey for the creative midfielder.
Isco, who has played 38 times for Spain, moves to Betis after leaving Sevilla in January following a complete breakdown in relations with the club’s former sporting director Monchi, who has since joined Premier League club Aston Villa, reports Xinhua.
In a recent interview with the Spanish sports paper Marca, Isco revealed that tensions between the two reached such a level that Monchi physically assaulted him after a heated discussion.
“I told him that he was the biggest liar I had ever met in the world of football and he attacked me. He came towards me, he grabbed me by the neck, we moved apart and they had to separate us completely. As you will understand, after that, I did not want to continue there under any circumstances,” said the player.
The move sees Isco reunited with Betis coach Manuel Pellegrini, with whom he spent two seasons at Malaga between 2011 and 2013, scoring 17 goals in 82 appearances before joining Real Madrid.
He then played 353 times for Real Madrid before leaving the club in the summer of 2022. In the same interview, as he discussed his relationship with Monchi, he admitted he should have left Real Madrid earlier as he was reduced to a bit-part role in his last two years with the club.