Isco is determined to prove he is still capable of performing at an elite level after ending his spell in the Real Madrid wilderness by joining Sevilla.
The midfielder, a five-time Champions League winner who made 353 appearances during a nine-year spell with Los Blancos, fell out of favour following Carlo Ancelotti s return to the Santiago Bernabeu last year.
He left the Spanish capital following the expiration of his contract in June, having made just three starts during Madrid s double-winning 2021-22 campaign, playing just 406 minutes in all competitions.
Sevilla swooped to sign the 30-year-old on a free transfer on Monday, and Isco hopes the move will revitalise his career.
I want to show the level that I have and that I have never lost. It s normal for there to be doubts, but I ll take care of dispelling them, he told the club s media channels after signing a two-year deal.
It has been a difficult summer, different. I ve had too many vacations, I ve taken advantage of them to get in shape and now I can t wait to play again, which I haven t done for a while.
I m not complaining, I ve been lucky because I ve played for big clubs and I ve won almost everything, but I don t like to think too much about the past but about what s to come.
Isco x Lopetegui
Reunited once more!
— Sevilla FC (@SevillaFC_ENG)
Isco s arrival in Seville will see him reunited with a familiar face in Julen Lopetegui, who coached him at Madrid in 2018 and during a spell as Spain boss between 2016 and 2018.
And the playmaker is excited to work with him at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, adding: He has always trusted me and I like his football, what he proposes. It is a football that is more suitable for my style.
I thank him for his confidence, which for a footballer is paramount. The confidence he has given me, it has always been the maximum. Now it s up to me to restore his confidence on the pitch and show him that he s not wrong.
Isco could make his Sevilla debut when they begin their LaLiga campaign at Osasuna on Friday.
