Reports: Isco takes swipe at Zidane after Spain hat-trick amid transfer speculation

What's the rumour?

Isco has reportedly taken a swipe at his Real Madrid manager after starring in a 6-1 demolition of Argentina with the national side. Isco was in top form as he managed to steal the limelight against the Argentines last night.

Murmurs of discontent have now turned into open retaliation by the Spaniard as he took aim at Zinedine Zidane and his way of management, leading to speculation that he might be headed out of Madrid this summer to the Premier League.

In case you didn't know...

The Real Madrid man was the star of the show at the Wanda Metropolitano.

The Real Madrid prodigy finally managed to make headlines for the right reasons as he produced one of his finest performances of the campaign. Isco was pivotal to the thrashing that Spain handed to the World Cup finalists.

In a stunning display, the Spaniard managed to bag the first hat-trick of his career and the Argentine back-line had no answers to either his movement to find space or his mazy dribbling with the ball at his feet.

This is in stark contrast to what has preceded it, this season, for the former Malaga man. He has been largely underwhelming this season for Los Blancos and has struggled to hold down a starting berth in the Spanish capital.

The heart of the matter

Isco has been at loggerheads with the management at Madrid for sometime now. Despite the changes in the top position of the coaching staff, the creative midfielder has not been able to crack his way through into the starting eleven. And his situation remains the same despite Zidane - who is credited with convincing the U21 World Cup winner to join Real.

Things have only headed further south this league season, with Isco openly displaying his anger and frustration over Zidane's tactics, after being repeatedly subbed-off early in the second half of multiple games.

Isco was finally on firmer ground, after his hat-trick heroism for Spain, and didn't waste any time gaining mileage out of the situation as he took aim at his club manager.

"In Madrid, I don't have the confidence a player needs, " Isco said in a post-match interview, as quoted by Marca.

"The matches with the national team give me life. Here, I have the confidence of the coach. I want to show that I'm a good player. Lopetegui shows me confidence with the minutes he gives me", he added.

"Maybe I'm the problem in Madrid. I don't know how to win Zidane's confidence."

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Author's take

It seems that the Spaniards has lost all confidence in his manager's words and isn't keen on sticking around too long. Zidane has been protecting Isco from much of the criticism that has come his way this season.

Though his talents as a footballer are undeniable, it would serve him better if he just gets his head down and concentrates on his development. This cheap pot-shots aren't going to take him far, especially when aimed at such immense footballing ability.