Los Blancos have announced in an official club statement that Zinedine Zidane has decided to leave the club, expressing their respect for his decision and their appreciation for his professionalism, dedication and passion, besides labelling him a legend of the club and reminding him that the Santiago Bernabeu will always be his home.
It had already been in the open for some time now that Zidane was going to take his leave at the end of the season, with rumors having circulated about an uneasy tension between club president Perez and the coach. However, it was refurbished to read that evidently the club needed an injection of fresh blood, that another cycle had come to an end and that the great man Zidane himself felt that he was no longer the right man to lead the team forward to greater achievements.
Zidane had returned to the Santiago Bernabeu for a second spell as coach in 2019, after leaving the summer before only a week after helping th em secure Champions League top honors.
He led Los Blancos to the Spanish league title last season and the semi-final of this season’s Champions League, but was just narrowly nudged out in the last-day concession of La Liga to Atletico Madrid, while also having lost both legs of their Champions League crucial matches to Chelsea – all of which has signalled that the time has come for a parting of ways for both parties.