Why Isco rejected Real Madrid captain’s armband on tense night at Bernabeu

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It was a night to forget for Real Madrid and Isco on Wednesday as they crashed to a heavy defeat at home to CSKA Moscow in the Champions League.

Qualification for the knockout stage was already assured as Los Blancos go through as group winners from Group G, but losing 3-0 at home in Europe is never going to reflect well on the players and coach.

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In turn, the pressure will be on Santiago Solari and his side when they face Rayo Vallecano on Saturday, as their supporters will be expecting a positive response.

However, Isco came under scrutiny in particular on Wednesday night it seems, with AS reporting that the Spanish playmaker was involved in an alleged confrontation with the supporters, who also whistled at him during the game.

It’s added in that report that Isco reportedly rejected the captain’s armband when Marcelo tried to hand it to him as he was substituted, which left the Brazilian stalwart a little confused.

According to Marca, there was an innocent explanation for it rather than Isco perhaps sulking and hitting out due to the reception he was getting from the fans, as it’s suggested that he had previously promised Dani Carvajal the chance to be captain after he missed out against Melilla in the Copa del Rey.

As with many clubs around Europe, the tradition is that the longest-serving player gets to wear the armband if the club captain is missing.

Marca note that Isco and Carvajal both joined Real Madrid around the same time, and so Isco has in fact just been a great teammate and lived up to his promise to his compatriot that he would get to be captain the next time such a situation presented itself.

If accurate, it’s nice to see that from the Madrid star, as although he’s going through a difficult spell currently in terms of his form, he still has the class to show that he’s a team player and he’ll hope to play a key role in helping Madrid get over what has been a poor first half of the season.

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