Zinedine Zidane has alluded to a trio of prerequisites for considering the managerial role at Manchester United.
With Erik ten Hag’s tenure at Man United marred by a lackluster second season, his future hangs in the balance.
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Amidst this backdrop of uncertainty, and with new minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe yet to be persuaded of Ten Hag’s ability to restore United’s former glory, the managerial seat at Old Trafford has become a subject of speculation.
Among the elite names rumored to be in contention is Zinedine Zidane, the storied French icon who has been on a sabbatical since his departure from Real Madrid in 2021.
Zidane’s illustrious managerial career at Real Madrid is marked by an unprecedented hat-trick of Champions League victories from 2016 to 2018 and a triumphant La Liga conquest upon his return in 2019.
Recently seen in Madrid for a legends game against Porto, Zidane reflected on the reasons behind his resignation nearly three years prior.
“I know football and I know the demands of a club like Madrid,” Zidane said, via Marca.
“I know that when you don’t win you have to leave, but here a very important thing has been forgotten – everything that I have built on a day-to-day basis has been forgotten, what I have contributed in the relationship with the players, with the one hundred and fifty people who work with and around the team.”
The former France star revealed three things that must be present for a club to be consistently great, suggesting he wouldn’t take the Man United job unless those things were assured.
“I am a born winner and I was here to win trophies, but beyond this are human beings, emotions, life.
“And I have the feeling that these things have not been valued, that it has not been understood that this is also how the dynamics of a great club are maintained.
“In some ways, I have even been reproached for it. Today the life of a coach on the bench of a great club is two seasons, not much more.
“For it to last longer, human relationships are essential, they are more important than money, more important than fame, more important than everything.”
