Real Madrid have boasted some of the best players of all time. Their fans are lucky to have witnessed such a plethora of brilliant talent either come through their own ranks, or the players they sign become so good that it is hard to keep every single player happy.
That is a good problem to have - kind of the opposite of what Real Madrid are dealing with these days, and it makes these fans miss the good times when they had them.
Real Madrid have let go of quite a few players in the last six or seven years, and should let go of a few more. Some of them left for the right reason, some of them left because it was the right time, or maybe because they had started declining as players.
Well, that was the case with Isco in 2022. He did not play much, and when he did, the Spaniard did not look that great. He looked like a shell of himself, and even though Carlo Ancelotti - who is bringing another former Real Madrid player back to Brazil - tried to make it work, it just wouldn't, sadly.
Things got worse for Isco after he left, with failed transfers and spats with club owners, but he has finally found his new home at Real Betis, where, honestly, he is enjoying one of the best seasons of his entire career.
Former Real Madrid star Isco has been exceptional this season
The former Real Madrid man has been exceptional for Betis, scoring and assisting goals to take them to seventh in the league table, as well as to the final of the UEFA Conference League, where they will face Chelsea.
Isco was remarkably good against his former club too, dribbling past countless Real Madrid players for fun, scoring a crucial penalty that gave his side the win. He showed his team what they were missing, and looked good doing it.
This season, Isco has had some injury issues that have kept him out for a few weeks, but when he has played, he has looked amazing. Antony and Isco have made a really good duo, in a way, and it is working out for them. Isco currently has 11 goals and nine assists in 29 games across all competitions, but that does not tell the whole story.
He is averaging numbers that resemble those from his prime years at Real Madrid. His goals and assists per 90 are the highest they have ever been bar the 2016-17 season. His key passes per game are at the highest they have ever been since 2017-18, when FBref first started collecting data.
Isco is crucial to this Betis side, and his progressive passing and dribbling have helped the team in a lot of situations this season.
It is weird to think that Isco has hit his second peak at the age of 33, but in a way, he has. His numbers are close to what he used to average when he was benching Gareth Bale in Champions League finals, and it shows just how good he is, and how quickly he was written off just because he did not get the time he deserved at a few different clubs.