Zinedine Zidane has reportedly turned down a potential offer from Manchester United, as indicated by his former Real Madrid teammate Thomas Gravesen.
Despite rumors in France suggesting that United’s new co-owner, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, had identified Zidane as a top target to replace Erik ten Hag as manager, it seems the Frenchman is not interested.
Zidane has been without a club since leaving Real Madrid at the end of the 2020-21 season, where he concluded the campaign without winning any trophies.
The 51-year-old has previously dismissed the idea of managing United due to the language barrier. Gravesen reveals that Zidane is holding out for a return to Madrid, or positions at his former club Marseille, and as the successor to Didier Deschamps for France’s national team.
“I spoke to Zidane in Madrid two years ago, and he told me that there are only three roles he would consider,” Gravesen told Discovery Plus. “They are Marseille, [Real] Madrid, and the French national team.”
Reflecting on Zidane’s potential fit at United, Gravesen remarked, “I would say that the team he had in Madrid was fantastic, and he was prepared from the beginning. At United, the situation is different; it is very difficult to do something with the team that Ten Hag has at the moment.”
