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What's the rumour?
Real Madrid has been terrible this season and desperately need a turn in fortune. Zinedine Zidane resigned this summer and Real Madrid appointed former Spain manager, Julen Lopetegui. Now, the Spaniard is on the verge of being sacked and former Chelsea manager, Antonio Conte is in pole position to replace him.
According to Corriere dello Sport (via Sky Sports), Lopetegui has been given a week's time, and if he can't win games this week, he could be on his way out.
In case you didn't know
Real Madrid is enduring a disastrous time and have been on a losing streak, something that no team wants. They sit on 5th place in the La Liga, having lost to teams like Sevilla, Alaves and Levante. They were humiliated by CSKA Moscow in the Champions League and had scored just once in their last 5 games.
Their season has been marred by injuries to top players like Gareth Bale, Marcelo, Isco and Karim Benzema. Also, top players like Sergio Ramos, Raphael Varane and Luka Modric have underperformed.
Heart of the matter
Florentino Perez has given Julen Lopetegui just one week's time and they will play Barcelona next Saturday. It is a tough encounter, and it looks very certain that he will be sacked. Antonio Conte has been out of work since, the end of last season and is one of the best options available.
If the sack does take place, it will be Lopetegui's 2nd in just 4-5 months. Earlier, he was sacked as Spain's manager just a couple of days before the World Cup.
Conte's style of football might not be beautiful to watch, but it has the capability to produce results.
Rumour rating: 8.5/10
Things look bad for Lopetegui, and a defeat against Barcelona will seal his fate. Moreover, the source of the report is credible, and many other sources have reported the same.
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What's next?
The next week will give us an indication of Lopetegui's future but at the moment it looks as though, Real could have their 3rd manager of the calendar year.
