“Why do we need Zinedine Zidane?” – When Blackburn Rovers hilariously turned down chance to sign Real Madrid legend

EFL Championship side Blackburn Rovers once denied signing Real Madrid legend Zinedine Zidane because they already had Tim Sherwood as an attacking midfielder.

In 1995, after Blackburn Rovers won the Premier League title with the help of the attacking prowess of Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton, director Kenny Dalglish, and manager Ray Harford told Chairman Jack Walker to sign Zinedine Zidane.

During the time, the former Real Madrid midfielder was playing at Bordeaux. However, the suggestions were never materialized as Walker quickly denied the talks by stating that they already had Tim Sherwood.

While speaking to Sky Sports, Jeff Stelling and Tim Sherwood recalled the time when the Riversiders turned down the opportunity to sign Zinedine Zidane. Jeff Stelling said:

"Was it around this time Tim, we heard the famous Jack Walker quote, I think it was Kenny and Ray [Harford] wanted to sign Zinedine Zidane didn't they? And Jack said 'why do we need Zinedine Zidane? We've got Tim Sherwood."

Former Blackburn Rovers skipper, Tim Sherwood replied by saying that Walker had a lot of trust in his team during the time because they were English Champions. However, he also thinks that the Riversiders would have completed the signing of the Frenchman.

"The champions of England, you know, if they can attract those sorts of players, maybe we should have bought him at that time. But they obviously had faith in the players that they'd got. Perhaps they should have a look back at that again."

In 1996, Zidane joined Juventus and spent five years at Turin. He also lifted the FIFA World Cup trophy in 1998 with France before he joined Real Madrid in 2001.

How long did Zinedine Zidane day stay at Real Madrid?

After spending five years at Juventus, Zinedine Zidane signed a new contract with Real Madrid for a then-transfer record fee of £47 million in 2001. He played a total of 227 games for Los Blancos and scored a total of 49 goals and also provided 68 assists before he announced his retirement from football after the 2005/06 season.

During his time at Santiago Bernabeu, he majorly played as an attacking midfielder. However, he also played as a left and central midfielder during his tenure at Juventus and Bordeaux.

He returned to Real Madrid in the 2013-14 season as an assistant coach on the men's team. Zidane was later shifted to Real Madrid B for a couple of seasons from 2014 to 2016. However, he got the chance to manage the first team for the first time in 2016 after Rafael Benítez stepped down as the head coach.

Zidane went on to win two league titles and three Champions League trophies (three-peat) across his two stints as manager at the club.