The hunt for a new manager at Real Madrid continues after Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri said that he turned down an offer to replace Zinedine Zidane at the Champions League winners because he had already committed to the Italian champions.
Real appointed former Spain manager Julen Lopetegui on Tuesday, but Allegri had been among the front-runners to take over from Zidane, who quit after winning a remarkable three successive Champions League trophies.
‘I said no to Real Madrid,’ Allegri told Italian news outlet Sky Sport Italia.
‘I did it on the phone to Florentino Perez (Madrid president) because I had given my word to (Juventus) president (Andrea) Agnelli.’
‘I thanked Florentino for the offer, but said I couldn’t accept it out of the respect I owed to Juventus.’
Allegri has won the Serie A title in each of his four seasons in charge of the Turin club.