Zidane says he wants Isco at Real Madrid forever after hitting back at false transfer reports

Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane has hit back at recent reports claiming that he is ready to put Isco up for sale after claiming that he wants the Spaniard to spend his whole life at the Santiago Bernabeu.

The future of the 25-year-old playmaker with the Champions League winners came in for question last season after Isco saw his playing time restricted during the opening half of the season.

Marca reported in February 2016 that the former Malaga midfielder was determined to move somewhere else in the summer and that Manchester City, Chelsea, Juventus and Barcelona were interested in his services.

At the time Isco only had a year-and-half left on his contract at Real and Marca suggested that Los Blancos would push for his departure in order to avoid losing him for free in the summer of 2018.

Catalan radio station RAC 1 added that Barcelona offered Isco a signing-on bonus to turn down a new deal at Real and move to the Nou Camp as a free agent once his contract expired.

However, the situation encountered a major U-turn in the second half of the season after Isco took advantage of injury to Gareth Bale to establish himself as a regular starter for Zidane during the run-in, helping Real to win both La Liga and the Champions League.

In September, Isco decided to commit his long-term future to Real by putting pen-to-paper on a new deal until 2022.

Isco confirmed at the time that Barcelona did make an approach to sign him but that he never thought about living the Santiago Bernabeu.

Questioned whether Barcelona tried to sign him, Isco confirmed then: "It is true that maybe there was some contact but I was clear. I never heard anything. My intention was to succeed here, in the team that put their trust in me when I was at Malaga. The target now is to continue improving, consolidating as a starter and winning many more titles".

But the speculation has re-emerged after Isco lost his place in the Real's team following the return from injury of Bale.

Isco has not started any of the last three La Liga games and was an unused substitute during the 3-0 defeat to Barcelona on 23 December.

Earlier this week, Spanish television show El Chiringuito reported that Zidane was disappointed with his performance and will put him on the market in the summer if he remains at the Real Madrid dugout.

Isco still has a big reputation around Europe and the speculation linking him with a move away quickly emerged, with AS naming Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, Juventus and Bayern Munich as five clubs who could try to battle for his services if Real put him up for sale.

But Zidane has all but ended the debate after claiming that Isco is going nowhere.

"It's good you ask me about that. You recently asked me why I did not sign [anyone in January]. I trust in my team and I will do it until the end. I want Isco and I want to stay here all his life and this will not change," Zidane said during a press conference ahead of the La Liga clash with Real Sociedad on Saturday (10 February).

"He is very good and he has shown. It's a lie [that we want to sell to sell him]. Everyone in this squad is important. There are many games and I will count on everyone. The most complicated thing for me is to make the line-up. "