outcast Isco has blasted claims he is the ‘mole’ leaking team line-ups and says he has been ostracised to such an extent that he did not even know the starting XI to face .
According to widespread reports in the Spanish press, Carlo Ancelotti has been on the hunt for someone within the club who has been leaking his line-ups to radio stations several hours before kick-off.
In order to avoid that from happening, he has started to name his starting XI two hours before kick-off, rather than the usual hour.
That happened at the weekend before Real’s 2-0 win over Getafe in La Liga and again on Tuesday night before facing Chelsea, with the line-up confirmed over two hours before the game was due to kick-off.
It was claimed that Ancelotti has now discovered the identity of the mole, with Real fans on social media speculating that Isco was the source.
But the playmaker – who has been left out of the squad for the last four matches both domestically and in Europe – hit out at the rumours on Twitter and says he is not currently even involved in tactical meetings.
Replying to a fan claiming he was the mole, Isco wrote: ‘I’m not called up [to the squad] so I haven’t attended the technical talk.
‘So it’s impossible that I L***ed the Real Madrid line-up! Go send your hate elsewhere!’
Borrowing a line from the fake news-hating Donald Trump, he also wrote ‘SAD’ in block capital letters alongside a crying-laughing emoji.
Isco is expected to leave the Bernabeu this summer having barely featured under Ancelotti this season, making just 11 appearances in La Liga – and none in the Champions League – and only scoring once.
Ancelotti’s ploy of naming his line-up early did not initially appear to have had the desired effect, with Mason Mount netting a fine first-half goal for Chelsea to halve their Champions League deficit.
Real went into Tuesday’s quarter-final second leg with a 3-1 advantage after Karim Benzema netted a stunning hat-trick at Stamford Bridge last week, but Mount’s goal was followed by a powerful header from Antonio Rudiger after the restart to level the scores on aggregate.
Timo Werner then put Chelsea ahead for the first time in the tie only for Real substitute Rodrygo to level the scores once more after a sublime pass from Luka Modric, with Benzema then sending the reigning champions packing with an extra-time winner.
, .
,  and .
