"I don't care, he does what he wants" - France Football president takes swipe at Zinedine Zidane

Zinedine Zidane, who has often been linked with the French national team's coaching job, has come under criticism from the French FA president.

After Didier Deschamps extended his contract with France until 2026, speculation about Zidane was put to an end. Though he was linked with taking over the role after the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, that did not materialize.

French FA president Noël Le Graët has now hit back at the talk of Zinedine Zidane replacing Deschamps, saying:

"Zidane in Brazil? I don't care. He does what he wants, it's none of my business. I've never met him We never considered parting with Didier."

This comes after speculation linking Zidane with the vacant Brazilian national team job.

---

How has Zinedine Zidane done as a manager in his career so far?

Zinedine Zidane managed Real Madrid twice, with both stints ending with him resigning and taking a break from management.

The 50-year-old led Madrid to a hat-trick of Champions League titles, becoming the only manager to have achieved this feat. He also became one of only three managers, alongside Bob Paisley and Carlo Ancelotti, to win the European Cup three times.

Speaking about his coaching stint with Real Madrid, Zidane said in 2018:

"When you work with high-quality players, they know how to manage those periods of games when you’re not playing well, and they get things back on track very quickly. My job was to keep people calm!"

As a player, Zidane featured over 100 times for Les Bleus, winning the World Cup once and finishing as the runner-up another time. He is often considered to be one of the best players ever and his coaching accomplishments have made him a hot property for clubs and national associations across the world.

According to L'Equipe, Zidane turned down the chance to take charge of Brazil, USA and Portugal after the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar last month.