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The last few months have been dreadful, to say the least, for Real Madrid. The Spanish giants won their 13th Champions League title in June and since then, it's been all downhill for them.
Cristiano Ronaldo left the club for Juventus after feeling 'unwanted' at the club and he himself confirmed that in his recent interview with France Football. In him, not only did Madrid lose a crowd puller, but also 50+ goals per season.
Los Blancos had to say goodbye to Zinedine Zidane who decided to leave the club to take a break. The manager won 3 Champions League titles in 2.5 years – something nobody will come close to for a long time – but didn't want to continue because he was exhausted.
Madrid wanted to get a big name as Zidane's replacement but could not get the ones they wanted. AS report suggests that Madrid made a move for 5 high profile managers but every single one of them rejected the offer.
The Bernabeu side finally settled for Julen Lopetegui but we all know how that ended. He could not get the team to perform well and was sacked after the 5-1 thrashing at the hands of Barcelona.
Here are the 6 managers who declined Real Madrid's offer:
#6 Julian Nagelsmann
The youngest manager in the top 5 European leagues was one of Florentino Perez's initial choices to replace Zinedine Zidane. The 31-year-old was offered the Bernabeu top job but the German did not take it.
The Hoffenheim manager was has been a part of the German club's coaching staff since 2011/12 season but became their manager only in 2016 – when he was just 28 years old! He was the assistant coach until then under six different managers.
Nagelsmann is now set to leave Hoffenheim at the end of the season and take over at RB Leipzig. The deal was announced just before this season started and it looks like the 31-year-old is set to stay in Germany for a long time. Bayern Munich next, maybe?
#5 Antonio Conte
Will he or won't he? There are a lot of questions surrounding the possible appointment of Antonio Conte as the next Real Madrid manager but the fact will remain that he rejected them in the summer of 2018.
The Chelsea manager was just sacked but he was still embroiled in a legal battle with the Premier League side. The Blues were looking to reduce the compensation they had to pay him citing that he cost them a lot in the transfer of Diego Costa will his ill-timed text to the player.
Madrid, who were looking for Zidane's replacement, made a move for him but he wanted a break and decided to reject the offer. Now with Lopetegui also gone, reports suggest that he has been offered the job once again.
While it was said that he had agreed a deal with Los Blancos right after their El Clasico defeat, Sergio Ramos' comments seem to have changed his mind. The Italian manager is still undecided and only time will tell if he will become their next manager or not.
#4 Jurgen Klopp
Another top manager Real Madrid reportedly targetted in the summer of 2018 was Jurgen Klopp. The Liverpool manager has been building a brilliant team at Anfield and is keen on winning trophies before leaving the club.
When Real Madrid approached him in the summer and offered him the job, the German manager rebuffed it straight away. Klopp has led Liverpool to the Champions League final and is now aiming for the Premier League.
He has been at the Anfield side for 3 seasons now and has finally got the team he wanted. It is now time for the manager to deliver some trophies and the Premier League trophy would be the one the Liverpool faithful have their sights on.
Madrid's ambition approach might have not pleased the Liverpool board as well. It will be difficult for the two clubs to negotiate a transfer any time soon. It will be a huge blow for Madrid as they have been linked with Sadio Mane and Mo Salah.
#3 Mauricio Pochettino
Mauricio Pochettino was reportedly Florentino Perez's #1 choice for the job. The Argentine has been a brilliant coach at Tottenham but has just not delivered with the trophies.
The 46-year-old has been linked with the Madrid job for a long time and the summer of 2018 was hyped to be the ideal time for him to make the switch. However, with the Spurs new stadium due and the club in a crunch financial state, the manager decided to stay.
Real Madrid, however, face some stiff competition from Manchester United. The Red Devils are reportedly keeping an eye on the manager as well as Jose Mourinho's time at the club is reportedly coming to an end.
Some reports suggest that Madrid will make another move for the Pochettino and Harry Kane but that again, has been a rumour that has been going around for years now. Will Pochettino finally back to Spain and take Madrid back to the top?
#2 Massimiliano Allegri
Massimiliano Allegri come out and revealed that he rejected an offer from Real Madrid. Speaking to Sky Italia in an interview, Allegri said:
"I said no to Real Madrid. I did it on the phone to Florentino Perez because I had given my word to president Agnelli. I thanked Florentino for the offer but said I couldn't accept it out of the respect I owed to Juventus."
However, reports suggest that Allegri's time at Juventus might come to an end at the end of the season if he doesn't win the Champions League trophy. The manager has been given all the resources and if he fails to deliver this season as well, it might be curtains for him.
Again, Allegri will start a war between Real Madrid and Manchester United as both the clubs are looking to get him as their next manager.
#1 Arsene Wenger
Real Madrid have been behind Arsene Wenger for a really long time. Rumours have suggested that Madrid wanted the Arsenal manager multiple times and Wenger confirmed it beIN Sports earlier this year:
“When we built the stadium the banks asked me to commit for five years, the first time [Real Madrid called] it was inside the five years and I thought no I could not do that, that would betray my club. Real Madrid I think I turned down two or three times you know. It’s one of the teams I loved when I was a kid. I just felt that it was a very sensitive period for Arsenal. You are always tempted to go to Real Madrid because they offered me the chance to take control of the whole club. At the end of the day, I said no once, twice. I turned so many clubs down you could believe it. At the end of the day, I was happy where I was as well.”
Wenger is without a club now Real Madrid are without a manager – is this the time they finally get together?
