Man Utd put on red alert as Zinedine Zidane issues new statement on next job

Zinedine Zidane has previously been linked with a move to Manchester United but the legendary player admits he has his sights set on the France job once it becomes available

Zinedine Zidane has made it clear he would “like to be the head coach of the France team one day” as he eyes a return to the dugout with the Real Madrid job still the only management role he’s had.

The Frenchman is the only manager in history to win the Champions League three times in succession, doing so with Los Blancos between 2016 and 2018, and later returned for a second stint, but has been out of work since 2021.

The France job will become vacant after next summer’s World Cup and the Les Blues icon has made it clear that taking charge of the national team is on his radar. Didier Deschamps has already confirmed he will step down as manager after 14 years in charge.

He and Zidane were part of the France side that won the 1998 World Cup. Deschamps has become one of only three men to win the World Cup as a player and a manager, having led France to success in 2018. Zidane would have the chance to become the fourth if he did take charge.

He has been a guest at the Festival dello Sport in Trento over the weekend and claimed: “I will definitely return.” Zidane went on to say: “In terms of the future, I don’t know. My feeling is that I want to be able to coach the national team in the future, even though I don’t mean right now. I would like to one day, but we’ll see.”

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Zizou has previously been linked with the Manchester United job, but there has never been any approach from those at Old Trafford. Instead they’ve gone after the likes of Erik ten Hag and Ruben Amorim, who now holds the post.

It is understood that the two main candidates to take charge of France are Zidane and Thierry Henry – another 1998 World Cup winner. France have been regulars in the latter stages of tournaments – making the semi-finals of the last Euros and losing in the most recent World Cup final.

Zidane has been linked with another former club in Juventus in the past. The Italian giants are the club where Zidane made his name on the European stage before his then world-record move to Real. They have lost their grip as Serie A’s elite outfit and previously appointed the likes of Igor Tudor and Thiago Motta.

The French icon remains unsure whether he will ever head to Turin as manager. “I don’t know. It hasn’t happened before, I’ve made other choices,” he said. “Juve will always remain in my heart, it gave me a lot from the beginning when I went there. As for the future, I don’t know.”

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