Saturday, 27th October, 2012
Malaga owner Sheikh Al-Thani is ready to offer impressive attacking midfielder Isco a new contract, which would raise his buy-out clause to €40M.
The 20-year-old has been the major success story of Malaga’s season so far, helping the club to recover from a turbulent summer which saw several stars sold to balance the books.
Malaga have competed well in La Liga, while the side also plotted a route through to the group stage of the Champions League, where they currently top Group C with three wins from three games, ahead of AC Milan, Anderlecht and Zenit St. Petersburg.
Isco, who is under contract with Malaga until 2016, has scored four goals so far this season, creating another three.
He has caught the eye of a number of Europe’s elite – and Malaga’s owner is keen not to lose the 20-year-old for his current release clause of €21M.
And to this end, Isco is poised to be offered a contract upping his yearly wages to €1.5M.
relatedNewsStoryBut in exchange, his release clause will increase to €40M.
While coach Manuel Pellegrini has welcomed the proposal, he has stressed that Malaga’s owner must concentrate on making sure players are paid on time from now on and debts owed are settled.
"The first things is to pay the players, by 31st October", said Pellegrini.
"Many months have been missed and the attitude of the players has been exemplary, now there should be a response, the players have responded on the pitch."
