MADRID // Real Madrid playmaker Isco insists he wants to stay at “the best club in the world” despite being courted by Barcelona and a host of Premier League clubs.
The Spanish international starred by scoring twice, including a 90th-minute winner, as a much-changed Madrid side remained three points clear of Barcelona at the top of the Primera Liga with a 3-2 win over Sporting Gijon on Saturday.
“I am at the best team in the world, there is no bigger team than Madrid and I feel fortunate,” Isco said. “I want to stay here for a long time.”
The 24-year-old midfielder is out of contract at the end of next season which has reportedly sparked the interest of Madrid’s rivals Barca.
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Read more
■ In pictures: Lionel Messi scores twice in 3-2 win over Real Sociedad
■ Report: Lionel Messi double sets up title-deciding el clasico against Real Madrid
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And despite 10 goals in all competitions this season he remains a fringe player with manager Zinedine Zidane preferring a midfield three of Casemiro, Luka Modric and Toni Kroos.
“You know what I think of Isco; he is a player I like a lot and his place is here,” Zidane said. “There are 24 players and it will always be unfair for those that don’t play.
“That is the difficult part of this job, leaving very good players on the bench.”
Isco was one of nine changes Zidane made to his starting line-up with the second leg of their Uefa Champions League quarter-final against Bayern Munich on Tuesday in mind.
However, even without the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema, Madrid for the umpteenth time this season found a late winner to remain on course for a first Liga title in five years.
And Zidane rejected suggestions Madrid have got lucky with their late shows this season.
“There is no such thing as luck in football, it is down to hard work and effort in every game,” he said. “You have to make your own luck. With the team we have we can cause damage to any team.
“It is in our DNA to fight until the end at Real Madrid and today we pulled it off.”
Isco also hailed Madrid’s DNA to fight till the end, but accepted the European champions made life difficult for themselves against relegation threatened Sporting.
“We didn’t control the game like we should have,” he added. “They went ahead on two occasions, but this is the spirit of Real Madrid and we have shown it once more.
“It is in the DNA of this shirt and this badge, we have shown it so many times and again today. Until the referee blows the full-time whistle it is not over.”
* Agence France-Presse
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Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten
Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a month before Reaching the Last Mile.
Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
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The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Details
Through Her Lens: The stories behind the photography of Eva Sereny
Forewords by Jacqueline Bisset and Charlotte Rampling, ACC Art Books
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The specs: 2018 Mercedes-Benz GLA
Price, base / as tested Dh150,900 / Dh173,600
Engine 2.0L inline four-cylinder
Transmission Seven-speed automatic
Power 211hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque 350Nm @ 1,200rpm
Fuel economy, combined 6.4L / 100km
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