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Just days after guiding his side to the UEFA Champions League trophy once again, Zidane stepped down as the coach of Real Madrid in a press conference. The news came as a surprise to football fans around the world.
The illustrious manager is the only one in the history of football to have won three consecutive UEFA Champions League titles. Despite his superb performance in Europe, the French manager has struggled a little domestically.
In La Liga, Real Madrid have won the title just once in the three years under his charge. Most of the club's glory came from Europe and there was pressure to excel domestically. Zidane probably found himself in the best time to step down, allowing the club to bring in some changes. The early contenders for his position included Arsene Wenger, Mauricio Pochettino, and Antonio Conte.
Wenger has been out of a job since he stepped down as Arsenal manager at the end of last season. Los Blancos have been long term suitors of the 68-year-old manager, but Wenger turned them down on a couple of occasions.
Meanwhile, Conte's future at Chelsea looks uncertain after an underwhelming season. He was also another manager tipped to succeed Zidane. Pochettino seemed the most unlikely of the trio to join the Madrid club because of his recently signed contract extension with Tottenham.
Despite all the talk about Premier League managers succeeding Zidane, the club eventually made a shocking appointment. The board has chosen to appoint Spain's national coach, Julen Lopetegui on a three-year deal.
Currently, Lopetegui is preparing his side for the World Cup in Russia, which is due to begin in two days. Spain has been drawn to face Portugal, Iran, and Morocco in the group stage. The 2010 World Cup winners are one of the favorites to win the trophy this summer.
After taking over the role of Spain's manager in 2016, he has a 70% win rate. Previously, he had managed Porto and the Real Madrid B team.
Here is how Twitter reacted to the news, many have considered this appointment to be shocking since the Spanish manager had recently extended his contract with the national team.
