Former Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane has revealed why he decided to step down as the club’s manager. Last week, the club announced that Zidane has decided to step down as manager after discussing his future with club president Florentino Perez.
Zidane quitted the Real Madrid job for a second time after having resigned once in 2018. Los Blancos had a disastrous season as they lost the La Liga title by finishing second in the league. They lost the title to Atletico Madrid on the last matchday. They were also knocked out of the Champions League by Chelsea in the semi-finals.
Madrid’s most humiliating defeat came in the Round of 32 of the Copa del Rey as they lost 2-1 to fourth-tier club Alcoyano. As a result, the Spanish giants failed to win a trophy for the first time in 11 seasons.
The Frenchman returned to the Spanish capital as a manager in March 2019, replacing Santiago Solari. He won his second La Liga title in the Covid-affected 2019-20 season. But last week he decided again to quit the job after managing for two seasons.
Zidane explains the decisions about leaving Real Madrid
It was not made clear why Zidane left, the Madrid fans backed the Frenchman despite going trophyless this season. But a letter published by the sports daily AS four days after his resignation has made it clear. The letter was intended for the fans as they kept asking about Zidane’s harsh decision.
In his first public comments since quitting last week, Zidane made it clear that he intends to continue coaching and offers his reasons for departing. He painted a damning portrait of the club, describing a culture in which coaches are not backed by the hierarchy.
The Frenchman said that the club didn’t fully value his work and they leaked information to the media to undermine him. He said that he wished his relationship with president Florentino Pérez had been different in recent months. Zidane specifically stated that the club didn’t have faith in him and also didn’t respected his decisions.
“Things are different now, I’m leaving because I feel the club no longer gives me the confidence that I need. It does not offer me the support to build something in the medium or long term.”
“I was born a winner and I was here to win trophies, but beyond this, there are human beings, emotions, life and I feel that these things have not been valued.
“It hurt me and it hurt the squad,” he said, “because these messages that were intentionally leaked to the media created negative interference within the team.”
However, the club has announced a replacement for Zidane. Real Madrid has appointed Carlo Ancelotti as their new manager to replace the Frenchman.
