Zinedine Zidane announces desire to return to coaching

Former Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane has announced his desire to return to coaching.

He was in London to be confirmed as a brand ambassador for Formula 1 team Alpine. The French car company were launching their 2023 F1 challenger the A523.

They announced that Zidane would help promote diversity, equal opportunities and inclusion in their company, a subsidiary of the Renault Group.

When asked how he would combine his new duties with a coaching job, Zidane said he would manage the two before announcing his desire to the dugout.

“Joining a club won’t prevent me from continuing to work with the team,” Zidane said (via L’Equipe).

“But of course, it will be a little less since I would be committed on a daily basis. It is my desire to return to coaching.”

Zidane left Madrid at the end of the 2020/21 campaign after his second spell in charge of Los Blancos.

The French icon led Madrid to three consecutive Champions League titles. He also won Super Cups, Club World Cups and one league title in that first spell.

Zidane left for a year before returning. He led the club to another league title before exiting again. The former France international captain has been without a club since then. 

He wanted the French national team job, but Didier Deschamps decided to stay on after the 2022 World Cup.

Paris Saint-Germain have been hoping to lure the 50-year-old to their club as they search for an elusive Champions League trophy.

The Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, reportedly wants Zidane to coach Les Parisiens. They will willingly part ways with current coach Christophe Galtier to make it happen.

Serie A giants Juventus also have Zidane on their radar if Massimiliano Allegri leaves the club this summer.