Real Madrid Star Isco Snubbed in UCL Clash After Showing a 'Lack of Respect' to New Manager
Isco was left out of Real Madrid's squad which faced AS Roma in the Champions League on Tuesday for showing a 'lack of respect' towards newly appointed manager Santiago Solari.
The Spain international travelled to the Italian capital with the rest of his teammates but was left in the stands following a bust-up with his new head coach.
Madrid-based radio station Cadena Cope claim that the pair's relationship is now 'broken' following their altercation over the weekend, where Los Blancos suffered a shocking 3-0 defeat against SD Eibar.
While Isco confirmed that he wasn't left out of the squad with an injury concern, Solari attempted to dodge questions surrounding the 26-year-old after their 2-0 win over Roma, insisting that the midfielder was dropped because of a sporting decision.
"Starting or being benched is a fictitious problem, it doesn’t exist," Solari said, quoted by the Independent. "That’s how I felt when I played. One has to be at 100% so that you can be selected.
"There are the right decisions for the right moments. These decisions are almost always sporting decisions except in exceptions cases and this is not one of those."
Real Madrid veteran Marcelo also spoke surrounding the decision to leave Isco out of the squad, advising his teammate just to keep his head down and fight for his place in the first team.
Defensive midfielder Marcos Llorente slotted into Solari's side at the Stadio Olimpico on Tuesday, where goals from Gareth Bale and Lucas Vázquez all-but confirmed Real Madrid would finish as the winners of Group G.
Attentions now have to turn back onto their form in La Liga, where Real Madrid can bounce back from defeat last week against bottom of the table side SD Huesca.
Los Blancos are only six points off the top spot in the league, but they have slipped outside of the Champions League places and now sit behind the likes of Deportivo Alavés and Espanyol.