It looks as though Zinedine Zidane is gearing up to vacate his post at Real Madrid, just five days after winning the Champions League.
The Frenchman has reportedly called a shock press conference at the Bernabeu/Valdebebas this afternoon (1pm, local time) following a morning of in-depth talks with Real president Florentino Perez.
Breaking news: Zinedine Zidane has reportedly scheduled a snap press conference for 13:00 CEST at the Bernabéu. We'll bring you that live as it unfolds. pic.twitter.com/jYAFCFsXzx
— AS English (@English_AS) May 31, 2018
The signals all seem to be pointing in the same direction.
It’s vastly unlikely that Zidane will have negotiated a new contract, especially seeing as though he only extended his current deal up until 2020 back in January.
Add to that these prescient comments from February:
Being a coach is extremely tiring – more so at a club like Real Madrid.
When I feel there is nothing more to give, I’ll walk away.
Should he leave, he does so with three straight Champions League titles in the bag. Regardless of his team’s short-comings in the league, that’s still a mighty high pedestal to step from. His might not be the most vaunted dynasty in Real’s long history, but you simply can’t sniff at the trophy haul.
Perhaps he feels like his mantle can only be sullied from this point, and Perez is granting him the luxury of preserving it in amber?
The departure will also leave a vacancy at one of the biggest clubs in the world – a club that have touted a certain somebody, who just so happens to be freshly unemployed, to the hilt over the years.
Surely not?