5 reasons why Real Madrid should sack Zinedine Zidane

It sounds odd given they swept the board last season to win both La Liga and the UEFA Champions League, but right now Real Madrid are in trouble.

They currently sit in 4th position in La Liga, trailing miles behind leaders Barcelona by a massive 19 points, and they’ve already lost a surprising 4 games – more than they did in the entirety of last season.

Outside of the league, they’re out of the Copa del Rey, and they’ve also struggled in the Champions League too, losing to Tottenham and finishing behind them in the group stages. Basically, 2017/18 is looking like the biggest disaster for Los Blancos in years.

So could the solution be to fire manager Zinedine Zidane? After such a great start in the job, it sounds crazy, but it could be the only way to go. Here are five reasons why.

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#5 They’re likely to finish the season without a big trophy

Carlo Ancelotti was dispensed of after failing to secure a major trophy in 2014/15

Ignoring the minor trophies that Real have already won, 2017/18 is looking likely to be the first season that Los Blancos will end without a major trophy since 2014/15 – and even then, the side finished second in La Liga and made it to the semi-finals of the Champions League. And unsurprisingly, the lacklustre season saw Carlo Ancelotti fired.

This time Zidane is likely to do even worse than Ancelotti did. 19 points is simply too much to overhaul in order for Real to win the league, and they’re even 10 points behind the current second-placed side. With Villareal only 2 points behind them in 5th, they’re basically one bad run away from sliding out of the Champions League spots – which would be inconceivable.

And speaking of the Champions League, the current rumour is that Zidane will only retain his job by retaining Europe’s biggest trophy. But given they’ve been drawn against Paris St. Germain – the side who have largely destroyed all opposition thus far – in the Round of 16, the likelihood of this seems slim to none.

Real Madrid simply can’t accept a season without a major trophy, and so Zidane’s got to go.

#4 There are better managers out there

Better managers than Zidane - such as Antonio Conte - may be available in the summer

If Real were to fire Zidane now, then they might struggle to find a replacement initially – the only big-name bosses with no ties right now are Carlo Ancelotti and Luis Enrique – Ancelotti was only sacked by Real in 2015, while Enrique most recently managed Barcelona, meaning he’s likely a major no-no for hardcore Madrid fans.

But should they choose to dispense of Zidane at the end of the season – basically accepting a poor finish so long as a Champions League spot is achieved – then they could essentially try to charm one of the best bosses in the world over to the Bernabeu.

One man who might be available regardless would be current Chelsea boss Antonio Conte – a tremendous manager who’s simply fallen out with the powerbrokers at Stamford Bridge.

And of course, if they really wanted to get a top-level manager in, they could attempt to poach the man who masterminded their most recent loss in Europe – Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino.

Whether the Argentine would make the move is a question mark, but it’d be worth trying. In a nutshell, there are simply far better managers than Zidane available for Real to bring in.

#3 Zidane has never overcome adversity

Stars like Cristiano Ronaldo haven't fired on all cylinders for Zidane this season

As a manager, just as he did as a player, Zidane has thus far been massively successful. After taking over from Rafael Benitez in 2016, he immediately won the Champions League, and in 2016/17 he went one better by winning both La Liga and retaining the Champions League.

But everyone knows that you can’t succeed all the time, and 2017/18 is basically the first bit of adversity that Zizou’s faced as a boss.

Where before he could always rely on the insane talent of the Real squad to come out on top in bad situations, that simply doesn’t seem to be the case anymore. Cristiano Ronaldo hasn’t been scoring nearly as many goals as he once did, Sergio Ramos looks past his prime at the back, and Gareth Bale has spent the majority of the season on the sidelines.

Other, more experienced bosses like Jose Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti had dealt with plenty of adversity at other clubs by the time they arrived at Madrid, and thus when things went wrong, they knew how to go about fixing them.

Zidane simply doesn’t have that kind of experience and thus he’s way out of his depth this season – and that’s why Madrid simply must make a change and get rid of him.

#2 His record in the transfer market is questionable

Theo was one of Zidane's only signings this summer

In previous years, Real Madrid have prided themselves on being the most powerful club in the world – the one club that are capable of buying any player they set their sights on, whether it was Luis Figo, Zidane himself and David Beckham in the early 2000’s, or Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka and Gareth Bale in more recent years.

Since Zidane took over though, that hasn’t been the case. The Frenchman only spent around £25m to bring back Alvaro Morata in 2016 – and then sold him on a year later – and the start of this season saw him buy just defender Theo and midfielder Dani Ceballos.

It won’t be a surprise to see them splash big money in this summer, but can they trust Zidane to make the most of it?

I’m not so sure. Rumours suggest that Zidane was told to slash Real’s wage bill, hence the lack of signings last summer, but it could well have been the case that he had too much faith in the players he already had – the likes of Marco Asensio for instance.

If they want to throw big money at players again, can Los Blancos really trust that Zidane’s the right man to spend it? I’m not so sure.

#1 They can’t risk falling behind

Madrid can't risk Zidane becoming their version of David Moyes

When Manchester United’s legendary boss Sir Alex Ferguson retired in the summer of 2013, he was replaced by David Moyes, who subsequently made a mess of the job and was fired towards the end of 2013/14 – and United ended up finishing 7th.

While Real’s season might not be looking that bad – they’re still hopeful of qualifying for the Champions League – they should look at the fall-out from the Moyes reign at United.

One bad season led not only to United suddenly not being the most powerful club in England, but it also allowed rivals like Chelsea and Manchester City – and even Tottenham and Liverpool – to leapfrog them in the pecking order.

United are in second place in the EPL right now, but it’s taken four seasons after the Moyes debacle to get them back to a decent position.

Risking another unsuccessful season with Zidane in charge could mean domestically, Real slip not only behind Barcelona but also behind Atletico Madrid – an unthinkable idea a few seasons ago.

And in Europe, it could mean they slip behind the Premier League giants as well as Barca, PSG and perhaps even Bayern Munich. For the self-styled biggest club in the world, it’s not worth the risk, and Zidane must go now so they can avoid further damage.