Isco deal falls apart as Bundesliga title hunters drop ex-Real Madrid star

Isco will not join Union Berlin after a planned move for the former Real Madrid attacking midfielder fell through on transfer deadline day.

Reports in Germany said Isco had undergone a medical and was set to sign for the side who sit second in the Bundesliga, one point behind Bayern Munich.

The 30-year-old was released by Sevilla after just four months at the club in December and looked set to take on a new challenge in Berlin.

However, the planned switch went down just hours before the deadline, which in Germany falls at 6:00 p.m. local time (17:00 GMT).

Both sides blamed the other, with Union sporting director Oliver Ruhnert saying in a statement posted on Twitter by the club: "We would have liked to see Isco play for us, but we have our limits.

“Today these have been exceeded, despite our previous agreement, which is why the transfer will not take place.”

Isco's management company, Gestifute, was quoted in German newspaper Bild as saying: "During the talks, we had to realize that our negotiating partner was no longer willing to move into the framework originally discussed."

Union, who face Wolfsburg in a DFB-Pokal game on Tuesday, have won all three of their Bundesliga games since the World Cup and the winter break in their surprise title challenge.

Isco started his career with spells at Valencia and Malaga, before spending nine years at Madrid, before leaving the Santiago Bernabeu at the end of last season.