Former Real Madrid player and coach Zinedine Zidane has disclosed why he won’t coach a team like Manchester United even though he wants to return to management.
The France international also reacted to rumors of him being linked to managing Paris Saint-Germain or the France national team.
The Frenchman was among the players who led his country to World Cup victory in 1998 but has been unemployed since the summer of 2021 when his second stint as Real Madrid manager ended abruptly.
Zinedine Zidane wants to get back into coaching but acknowledges that his ambition hinders him from being considered for many posts and that the language barrier has kept him from ever being a credible candidate for important positions in the Premier League.
When asked if he could manage Manchester United or Paris Saint-Germain in the future he said: “Never say never. Especially when you’re a coach nowadays. When I was a player, I could choose almost every club. As a coach, there aren’t 50 clubs I can go to. There are two or three possibilities.
“If I go back to a club, it’s to win. I say this in all modesty. That’s why I can’t go anywhere.
“For other reasons, too, I might not be able to go everywhere. Which ones? The language, for example. Certain conditions make things more difficult.
“When people say to me: ‘Do you want to go to Manchester?’ I understand English but I don’t fully master it. I know that there are coaches who go to clubs without speaking the language, but I work differently. To win, many elements come into play. It’s a global context. Me, I know what I need to win.”
Zinedine Zidane has also been linked with a move to become the next France head coach and he didn’t fail to respond when asked about it.
The 50-year-old made a total of 108 appearances for the national team before retiring in 2006. “I’m not finished with Les Bleus, he said. “I want to do it, of course. I will be [France coach], I hope, one day. When? That’s not up to me. I want to come full circle with the French national team.
“I met this French team as a player, and it’s the best thing that ever happened to me! It is the peak. So, since I went through that and now I am a coach, the French team is firmly anchored in my head.
“Succeed [Didier] Deschamps? I don’t know. If it has to be done, it will be done, at that time or not. When I say I want to take charge of the French national team one day, I’m assuming.”
Zinedine Zidane Career As A Coach
Zinedine Zidane joined Real Madrid as a manager in 2016 and his first two and half seasons were a huge success. The Real Madrid legend won the UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup, La Liga, a Supercopa de Espaa, and made history by being the first coach to win the Champions League three times in a row.
In just six years as manager of Real Madrid, Zidane won 11 trophies. Despite being an inexperienced manager the former Galactico was able to pull all the strings and solidify his place as one of the greatest managers in Real Madrid history.
