Francisco Román Alarcón Suárez (; born 21 April 1992), commonly known as Isco (), is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or left winger for Real Betis.
He began his career at Valencia, playing mainly in its reserve team, before joining Málaga in 2011. His performances at Málaga earned him the Golden Boy award in 2012, and a €30 million move to Real Madrid in June 2013, with whom he has won 20 major trophies including five UEFA Champions League titles, three La Liga titles, one Copa del Rey and four FIFA Club World Cup titles.
Isco represented Spain at various youth levels, including at the 2012 Olympics, and made his senior international debut in 2013, later taking part at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Club career
Valencia
Isco was born in Benalmádena, Málaga, Andalusia. As a child he played for Atlético Benamiel, where his teammates included Charlie I'Anson. A product of Valencia's youth system, he spent the 2009–10 season with the club's reserve team in Segunda División B, netting once in 26 games and suffering relegation.
While still registered with the reserves, Isco made his debut with the first team on 11 November 2010, against Logroñés in the 2010–11 Copa del Rey, scoring two goals in a 4–1 home win (Paco Alcácer made his senior debut in the same fixture). He played his first La Liga match three days later, featuring for 20 minutes in a 2–0 home win against Getafe after coming on as a substitute for Aritz Aduriz; he thereafter made three further league appearances and two in the UEFA Champions League, all from the bench, and helped the B-team return to the third level by scoring 15 goals in their campaign.
Málaga
In mid-July 2011, Isco moved back to his home province and signed a five-year contract with Málaga after the club activated his buy-out clause of €6 million. He scored his first goal for his new team on 21 November 2011, starting in a 3–1 away win against Racing de Santander; he netted again the following week in a 2–1 win against Villarreal, and finished his first season with 32 games and five goals as the side qualified for the UEFA Champions League for the first time in its history.
On 18 September 2012, in Málaga's first game in the Champions League group stage, Isco netted twice in a 3–0 home win over Zenit, also being chosen as Man of the Match. On 22 December he scored the first goal in an eventual 3–2 win against Real Madrid at La Rosaleda, leading the locals to their first victory over that opponent in 29 years; in December he won the Golden Boy award, beating Stephan El Shaarawy and Thibaut Courtois.
On 28 January 2013, Isco ended speculation regarding his future by signing a new contract with Málaga – his new buyout clause was set at €35 million. He scored his eleventh goal of the campaign on 13 March, netting the opener in a 2–0 home win against Porto, good enough for last-eight qualification after the 0–1 first leg loss at the Estádio do Dragão.
Real Madrid
On 17 June 2013, Isco confirmed that he had received offers from Real Madrid and former Málaga manager Manuel Pellegrini's Manchester City, but stated he would only make a final decision on his future after the UEFA European Under-21 Championship final. On 26 June, Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez confirmed that a deal had been reached with the player and that he would be presented by the club next week, once he passed his medical; the following day he signed a five-year contract, with Real Madrid paying €30 million for his services, thus becoming the first signing of newly appointed manager Carlo Ancelotti.
On 18 August 2013 Isco made his official debut for the Merengues, recording an assist and scoring the winning goal in a 2–1 home win over Real Betis, the latter coming through an 85th-minute header. He continued with his form by netting two goals against Athletic Bilbao on 1 September (3–1, also at the Santiago Bernabéu).
In spite of continuing to score regularly when featured, Isco received limited opportunities in the first team due to the 4–3–3 formation not being suited for his style, but Ancelotti stated that it was "a temporary problem". He scored 11 goals in 53 official games in his first season, including 61 minutes in the Champions League final, a 4–1 win over Atlético Madrid in Lisbon.