The former ‘galactico’, a majestic playmaker who dazzled crowds at the Santiago Bernabeu and beyond, Zidane returned to Madrid for two spells as coach. Now his era is over, with Madrid stating on Thursday: “Real Madrid announces that Zinedine Zidane has decided to end his current spell as coach of our club.
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The French boss – a three-time Champions League winner with Los Blancos – was in his second spell at the club having secured the La Liga title in last season’s restarted top flight
The 35-year-old Croatian international, who won the Ballon d’Or in 2018, has played 391 times for Madrid since joining from Tottenham in 2012.
The Frenchman has remained tight-lipped on whether he will remain in charge of Los Blancos, although he was recently forced to deny reports claiming that he had told his players he was set to leave this summer.
Zinedine Zidane’s side triumphed in Andalusia on Thursday and moved second, on 78 points from 36 games, two points behind leaders Atletico Madrid.
The Blues will now face Man City at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium on May 29
The 28-year-old has already confirmed that he will be leaving the German giants at the end of the season, ending a 13-year stay at the Allianz Arena, which has included two Champions League triumphs.
Ramos has been nursing a calf injury since April 1, which led him to miss his side’s 3-1 defeat of Liverpool in their Champions League quarter-final first leg and Saturday’s 2-1 victory over rivals Barcelona in La Liga.
Los Blancos are currently third in Spain’s top flight, two points behind second-placed Barca, who now trail leaders Atletico Madrid by just a single point with nine games left.
As ever, this game could play a key role in determining the order of finishers at the top of La Liga, with both Los Blancos and the Blaugrana hungry to challenge Atletico Madrid in what has become a three-horse race for the title.
Current Juventus boss Andrea Pirlo is facing the chop after Sportsmail revealed this week the club are set for a major overhaul should they fail to qualify for next season’s Champions League.
With skipper Sergio Ramos ruled out through an injury picked up on international duty, the 27-year-old was set to play a key role in Tuesday’s quarter-final first leg in Spain.
Diego Simeone’s side still hold a five point lead over their closest rivals, and a three-point lead over Barcelona, at the top of the table, but the difference would have been eight points had it not been for Benzema’s late goal.
The French left-back’s strike in Bergamo came four minutes from time in a last 16 first leg game, which the hosts played a man down for over 70 minutes as Zinedine Zidane’s side hold the advantage heading into the second leg in Madrid on March 16.
Benzema got Zinedine Zidane’s side off to a strong start in the 12th minute when he collected a pass from Kroos on the edge of the area and fired into the far bottom corner.
The 48-year-old has been named by FFF President Noel Le Graet as the national team’s idea successor to Didier Deschamps, who has a contract with the World Cup holders until 2022.
The 34-year-old, who has seen serious speculation generated regarding his future at Santiago Bernabeu as his current contract runs down, will be unavailable to Zinedine Zidane for the foreseeable future.
Ramos has not played since the Supercopa de Espana semi-final defeat to Athletic Club on January 14.
He missed Real Madrid’s 2-1 defeat by Levante after testing positive for the coronavirus.
The 73-year-old, who is tested regularly, is self-isolating and without symptoms.