Rumours have surfaced this week that current Real Madrid manager, Zinedine Zidane, could leave his role at the club at the end of the season. The Frenchman has since denied reports he has told his players he is leaving the Spanish club but several media reports ran with the story over the weekend.
Talking about the story, Zidane said, “How could I tell the players I'm leaving now? We're giving our everything for the title and I just say 'by the way, I'm off'?” he said.
💬 Zidane: “We are still in it. We are going to give our all until the final minute. We knew the league would go down to the last minute. We are going to fight for it. I’m happy about our match. We’re still alive."#HalaMadrid pic.twitter.com/j1oaCqtVGw— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) May 16, 2021
💬 Zidane: “We are still in it. We are going to give our all until the final minute. We knew the league would go down to the last minute. We are going to fight for it. I’m happy about our match. We’re still alive."#HalaMadrid pic.twitter.com/j1oaCqtVGw
“People outside the club can say whatever they like, but I would never, ever say that to my players.”
Real Madrid are two points behind league leaders Atletico Madrid with only one match remaining in the title race. Real Madrid face a tough test against Europa League finalists Villarreal and they need to win the game and hope Atletico Madrid drop points at Real Valladolid.
However, Zidane’s additional comments did not deny the possibility he could leave at the end of the season. “At the end of the season, then we'll see what happens, but right now we're focused on our final game,” Zidane said.
“We can't just keep talking about my future. The last game of the season is far more important than that.”
So, although he may not have informed the players of his decision to leave Real Madrid, he has not denied it could happen.
This is Zidane’s second spell as manager at Real Madrid and he led them to three consecutive Champions League titles in his first between 2016 and 2018. Winning the league title this season would also be a tremendous achievement considering the start they made to the campaign.
However, the squad is ageing and some of the best players are approaching the end of their career. Perhaps that is why Zidane will choose to leave in the summer and allow someone else to come in and begin the rebuilding job.
One of the men linked with the Real Madrid job over the past few days has been Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti. Everton suffered an embarrassing 1-0 home defeat at the hands of Sheffield United on Sunday.
That result means they may finish outside the Europa League qualifying places this season, meaning no European football for the Italian. Reports in the media over the weekend suggest Ancelotti could return to the Bernabeu and he would be the right choice if Real Madrid decide to go with an experienced manager.
However, they may decide to look within their own ranks and turn to club legend, Raul. The former Real Madrid forward is currently in charge of the youth team and is believed to have impressed the hierarchy at the club.
Max Allegri is another potential candidate for the job and the Italian has been out of football having left Juventus in 2019. There is no doubting Allegri’s tactical intelligence but will he bring the style of football Real Madrid fans crave?