Zinedine Zidane rejected Man Utd job despite being handed blank cheque
Zinedine Zidane turned down blank cheques to join Manchester United and Chelsea as manager, according to his former France team-mate Marcel Desailly. Zidane has only ever managed Real Madrid at the first team level but remains often linked to some of the world's top jobs.
The 1998 World Cup-winning midfielder won three Champions League titles in a row in his first spell with Los Blancos and won two La Liga titles across his two stints in the Bernabeu hotseat. Zidane resigned from his position in 2021 after failing to win a trophy - the first time Real Madrid had failed to do so in more than a decade - and has not managd since.
And Desailly has suggested that Zidane has turned down lucrative proposals to return to football. Maintaining his current lifestyle and travelling remains important to the 52-year-old.
Former Chelsea defender Desailly believes that Zidane will be the person to take over from Didier Deschamps for the French national team however. A move to the Saudi Pro League does not appear likely in the mind of the ex-Blues captain however.
"Will Zinedine Zidane be tempted by Saudi Arabia? Well he had a blank cheque on the table from Chelsea and a blank cheque from Manchester United and turned them down – he isn't in it for the money," said Oddspedia.
"I don't see why money will change anything, I know privately that he won't change his lifestyle. He likes to travel and always keeps an eye on the France national team.
"He's ready because Didier Deschamps has started the transition. France will be one of the favourites for the World Cup and win or lose it's not the end of this era for France.
"Since 2016, France have been growing and growing. New players have come into the team constantly and now they have the right players. Rayan Cherki is one of them alongside Ousmane Dembele, Kylian Mbappe is still there and on top of his game.
"There is a real dynamic. William Saliba is in defence with Ibrahima Konate, Bayern have Dayot Upamecano. There is a squad and a philosophy and Zidane will know how to take that on to rebuild his own team. For another eight years at least France will be at the top level in Europe."
With Zidane out of the picture, Desailly believes Manchester United should look to Luis Enrique to turnaround their fortunes. And despite Champions League success, he would not be surprised to see Enrique depart Paris Saint-Germain.
" Football moves quickly and say that next season he makes too many mistakes, he might get into conflict with players like Bradley Barcola and Desire Doue as they grow and have a bigger say on the system," he said. "Soon they will be able to say no to the coach and his influence and because anything can happen, he might end up in the Premier League.
"We are talking about something that didn't happen 20 years ago, but tactical coaching is now in the Premier League thanks to Claudio Ranieri and Jose Mourinho and so many other coaches. The Premier League has grown.
"Luis Enrique would bring a new dynamic and if I was at Manchester United, I'd be asking Luis Enrqiue to come to my club. They have tried all kinds of coaches and now all eyes are on Enrique because he can build a philosophy from scratch. Manchester United need Luis Enrique."
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