#2 Zinedine Zidane
An intelligent and elegant midfielder, Zinedine Zidane will always be a Real Madrid great and now that he is the manager of his former club, has further opportunity to leave his mark on their history. When Florentino Perez signed the Frenchman, he was already one of the best players in the world but remained a victim of Barcelona’s dominance in the 2000s during his spell at the club.
Zidane had a dream start to his stint at Madrid winning the Champions League in his very first season. He won just one other major trophy with the side, the league title, until his retirement in 2006.
When the trophies stopped, so did the fans’ love for the midfielder. Chants of appreciation were replaced by boos and catcalls as Zizou slowed down and struggled to keep up with the increasingly fast and physical nature of the modern game.
In January, when fans were jeering their latest victim, Cristiano Ronaldo, Zidane explained, “I don't understand the jeers for Ronaldo but at the same time, I look at it and note that it even happened to me.”
