Former Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane is once again being linked with a move to Juventus this summer to replace Max Allegri. The Frenchman famously led Los Merengues to three back-to-back Champions League trophies and two La Liga titles before finally departing the club in 2021. The 50-year-old has been linked with a number of vacant roles in recent years, most recently PSG and Manchester United, but has opted to take time away from the game for the last two years.
RMC Sport now report that Zidane is ready to find a new managerial role and wants to commit to a long-term project, with Juventus being his number one priority. The French outlet suggest that ‘the clubs likely to attract him can be counted on the fingers of one hand, for various reasons. But one in particular has become his priority. An institution he knows well: Juventus’.
The report claims that in early 2019, contacts were established between the leaders of Juventus and Zidane, with Pavel Nedved and Fabio Paratici, then vice president and sporting director wanting to make a change on the bench.
RMC suggest that Zidane ‘seems to be attracted by the idea of returning to Italian football as a coach‘ and point to a report from March that year where La Stampa talked about Zidane visiting Turin. The outlet say that ‘discussions were so advanced that members of his future staff were already managing their move to Piedmont‘. A phone call from Real Madrid president Florentino Perez changed everything as he asked Zidane to come back after a tough season in order to rebuild a competitive team.
The suggestion is that Zidane’s situation is very different today as he would not consider an umpteenth return to Madrid to succeed Carlo Ancelotti as he would like to complete an ‘unfinished Italian project’ with Juventus.
The Bianconeri are in a tricky situation as they have temporarily had their 15-point penalty revoked and face an uncertain future. RMC claim, however, that Zidane would not consider a lack of European football next season as an obstacle and would be willing to coach Juventus, regardless, as he wants to commit to a long-term project with the Bianconeri.
