Without a club and without the France team on the horizon, the future of Zinedine Zidane questions and his reaction after the words of Noël Le Graët is eagerly awaited …
“We do not disrespect the legend”, this is how France football reacted following the controversial remarks of Noël Le Graët on Zinedine Zidane in the program Bartoli Time on RMC Sport on Sunday January 8. After the reactions of Kylian Mbappé, the Minister of Sports … The reaction of the former number 10 of the France team is eagerly awaited. But often discreet in the media, the former Real player could not give in to controversy. Often referred to as the successor to Didier Deschamps at the head of the Blues, the Frenchman will have to wait until 2026 to possibly take the lead of the Blues after the extension of his former captain.
The relationship between Noël Le Graët and Zinedine Zidane has never seemed tumultuous. In 2017, the latter even explained that the former playmaker was the “logical continuation”. “I had discussed with him two or three years ago, I strongly advised him to go to Bordeaux or elsewhere, to start his career in a Ligue 1 club or more modest” he had launched with RMC. In Figaro, the president of the FFF had even compared him to Emmanuel Macron. “He has been there for a short time and is winning big trophies. He is doing Macron and going very fast,” he explained at the time. “The FFF will not buy Zidane from Real Madrid tomorrow (…) He is someone who, one day, will want to”.
In the meantime, the reactions are linked like that of Real Madrid which, through a press release, deplores the remarks. “Real Madrid CF regrets the unfortunate statements of the President of the French Football Federation, Noël Le Graët, about Zinedine Zidane, one of the greatest legends in world sport. (…) These words are disrespectful for the “one of the most admired figures by football fans around the world and our club awaits immediate rectification. The statements of the President of the French Football Federation are unbecoming of someone who holds such representation and are in themselves disqualifying- same, just like the ones he also does about our captain Karim Benzema.”
His future could therefore enroll internationally with an inciting rumor sending him to Brazil. Simple rumors according to L’Equipe who explained a few days ago that the language barrier and the desire not to embark on a medium-long term project with another selection would slow down the former legend.
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Historical adviser to the French for many years, Alain Migliaccio has invalidated with our colleagues from The Team at the beginning of June, the information revealed on a possible arrival of Zidane at PSG: “All these rumors circulating are unfounded, slice Alain Migliaccio, the adviser of “ZZ” for almost thirty years. “To date, I am the only person admitted to represent and advise Zinedine Zidane. Neither Zinedine Zidane nor myself have been contacted directly by the owner of PSG (…) I’m not even sure that he is really interested in the arrival of Zinedine Zidane. After all the same real negotiations, the former number 10 will not come to PSG as he explained to L’Equipe on Thursday June 23. “Never say never. Especially when you’re a coach these days. But the question is moot. It’s absolutely not relevant. When I was a player I had a choice, almost every club Coach, there aren’t fifty clubs I can go to. There are two or three possibilities. That’s the current reality. Coach, we have much less choice than player. If I go back to a club, it’s “is to win. I say it in all modesty. That’s why I can’t go anywhere. For other reasons, too, I might not be able to go everywhere.
Zidane’s career reached a new stage in 2001, when he was transferred to Real Madrid during the summer. The cost of this transfer breaks all records with an amount of approximately 506 million francs (more than 77 million euros) for a period of four years. With this new team, he won the Champions League in 2002. In the final match against Bayer Leverkusen, he scored a memorable goal for a right-hander (left foot volley). With Real, Zidane will confirm his stature as a contender for the title of best player in the world of the moment: he will win the UEFA Super Cup and the Intercontinental Cup in the same year. We can add to this list a title of Spanish champion and a supercup the same year (2003).
The passage of Zidane by a great Italian club will make him a very great player from 1997, but it will take more to become a legend: in the France team, Zinedine Zidane wins the 1998 World Cup, in France and against the Brazilians , during an anthology final on July 12, 1998. The two goals he scored with a header will go down in history. This is the very first time that French players have reached the supreme title of world champion. Zidane received the Ballon d’Or and the title of best European player that same year. The great control specialist has reached an exceptional level of play. In 2000, he won the European Nations Championship with the Blues, a double (World Cup + European Nations Championship) never before achieved in the history of football. “Zizou” is awarded the title of best FIFA player of the year. Its popularity in France is considerable.
Amid several UNFP (French football awards), UEFA and other accolades, Zinedine Zidane won the Ballon d’Or in 1998. He would finish second in 2000 and third in 1997. He was also voted best FIFA Footballer of the Year in 1998, 2000 and 2003. For many, he was one of the best players in the world. His mastery of control, his very good vision of the game and the quality of his distribution characterize this exceptional player. Pelé is full of praise for him: “He is the master, quite simply. I would put Zidane in the five best players (in history). In the last ten years, there hasn’t been one others like him, he was the best player in the world”.
Zinedine Zidane’s post-career is initially rather vague. Zidane first devoted himself to charities, chained a few gala matches and received offers for a luxury retirement in a club in the United States or Australia. He finally returned to football in June 2009, when he joined Real Madrid’s management team as an adviser to the president. In July 2011, “Zizou” became the club’s sporting director after the departure of Jorge Valdano. On June 26, 2013, he was chosen as assistant coach to Carlo Ancelotti, still with Real Madrid.
In 2015, Zidane obtained his UEFA coaching diploma and his European professional license. He must pass the DEPF (professional football coaching diploma) in 2016. On January 4, 2016, he became coach of Real Madrid in place of Rafael Benítez, in the midst of a crisis for the club, which has just chained heavy defeats. The press is skeptical at first, but Zidane’s style, between discretion, determination and a strong relationship with his stars, like Cristiano Ronaldo, will also take over the bench. With Real, Zinédine Zidane will win everything: Spanish championship (2017), Spanish Super Cup (2017), UEFA Super Cup (2016 and 2017), FIFA Club World Cup (2016 and 2017) . Above all, he will chain three victories in a row in the most prestigious competition, the Champions League, which he will win in 2016, 2017 and 2018, before announcing his departure from Real at the end of May 2018. He was recalled to the bench in March 2019, to take over from Santiago Solari, then left the club again in May 2021.