Ancelotti's arrival at Real Madrid could change Isco's plans

Isco will meet up with the coach when he returns from his holidays and make a decision on whether to leave Madrid or not. He is happy with the change.

Carlo Ancelotti's return to Real Madrid will drastically change the outlook for a number of first team players as regards to their respective futures. Some for the worse - for instance, Gareth Bale, who was the one of the reasons why the Italian coach was dismissed during his first stint at the club. For others though, it could be positive, like for Isco, who played an important role in the successes which Ancelotti's Madrid reaped between 2013 and 2015. The midfielder even celebrated Carlo's return on social media, ticking a like on the coach's Instagram page to announce he had accepted a second stint at the Bernabéu. There was no reaction whatsoever from Isco when Zidane confirmed he was leaving.

Sources close to Isco have told AS that the player is clearly delighted with the change of manager. Midway through last season he spoke to the club, requesting to leave, and before Ancelotti's appointment, on hearing that Zidane would be departing, the player decided to wait and see who the club would bring in as the new coach. He will talk it through with Ancelotti and then make a decision. That's his plan.

As of the moment, Isco has not received any offers from other clubs - and neither has anyone else in the first team squad. The midfielder is under contract with Real Madrid until 2022 and he takes home a pay packet of around six million euros. At 29 and with his family settled in Madrid, the best option for Isco would be to stay in the capital where he is happy. If Ancelotti lets him know that he will start out on the same footing as everyone else in the squad (which didn't happen with Zidane), Isco may well decide to stay and try and win his place back at Real Madrid.

If that happens and he starts to play regularly again, his career could take a new direction. It would a chance to secure what would probably the last lucrative contract of his career if he is able to leave on a free transfer in 2022. But Madrid have other ideas. The club hopes that a decent offer will come in for Isco so that they can use the money from his transfer to finance other operations. One way or another, Ancelotti's arrival will influence where Isco ends up playing next season.