ZInedine Zidane has revealed would have taken the Real Madrid job if it had been offered to him by Florentino Perez this summer.
The Frenchman worked under previous boss Carlo Ancelotti in the 2013-14 season before taking charge of Real Madrid Castilla last season. The move was seen as the next step in his progression to the main job one day and media talk suggested that he was one of the favourites to take over from the Italian when he was fired at the end of this season.
Perez though had other ideas and went for Rafa Benitez as the new manager, meaning Zidane will still be in charge of the reserve side next season. His stock fell somewhat when he failed to guide them to promotion from Spain’s third tier to the second tier.
Speaking to France Football, Zidane admitted he would have taken the job if it had been offered to him because he’s an ambitious coach. But he recognised the time wasn’t right for him and he’s happy to wait for his chance.
“I would have accepted the chance to replace Ancelotti. I consider myself a professional and I would not have turned down the challenge. It was considered that this was not the moment. Things happen in a natural way — you do not need to look for them. It was not written to be like that. [Perez] took the decision to choose another coach, and that’s that,” he said.
