NEWS. . . BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
Zinedine Zidane has reportedly turned down an offer from Manchester United, according to former Real Madrid teammate Thomas Gravesen.
Earlier this week, reports in France claimed that United’s new co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe had met Zidane as one of his targets to upgrade Erik ten Hag as manager.
Zidane has controlled a club since leaving Real Madrid at the end of the 2020-21 campaign, where he ended the season without a trophy.
In the past, the 51-year-old had ruled himself out of the bid for United’s next manager due to the language barrier.
And Gravesen says Zidane is hoping to return to Madrid or take up positions at his former club, Marseille, and in France’s national team as a successor to Didier Deschamps.
“I spoke to Zidane in Madrid two years ago and he told me he had three roles he would like to take on,” Gravesen told Discovery Plus.
“And it’s Marseille, Real Madrid and the French national team.
“We were in Madrid two years ago and that’s precisely what he told me. I also asked him if he was fit to train at the back and then he just told me if there were opportunities for all three.
Asked about the possibility of Zidane managing United, Gravesen replied: “I would say the team he had in Madrid was and he was ready from the start.
“At United the scenario is different, it’s very difficult to do anything with the team that Ten Hag has at the moment.
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