Another backroom shuffle at Real Madrid as the rumours of infighting between Jose Mourinho and Zinedine Zidane prove true as news comes today that Zidane has stepped down as the club’s sporting director to obtain coaching qualifications in France.
“Zidane stepped down from his commitments with the first team two months ago,” said Mourinho.
“He told us he was looking for the place where he would be happiest in his work and that he wanted to become a coach,” explained the Real Madrid coach, who had earlier stressed he had not fallen out with Zidane, who led France to World Cup glory over Brazil 14 years ago. “He is on the way to getting his badges in France.”
Even before he began his coaching course in the French city of Limoges, Zidane had been distancing himself from Mourinho, spending more time with the academy players rather than the first team squad.
One Real Madrid player who will be sorry to see Zidane leave is Benzema, who trusted the advise and guidance he got from the French legend. Without that support now, it will be interesting to see if it impacts Benzema’s performance on the pitch.