Zinedine Zidane has announced he is stepping down as Real Madrid manager barely one week after he led the club to a third consecutive Champions League title, its 13 overall.
The French tactician has been in charge at the Barnabeu since January 2016, but said in a news conference on Thursday that he was quitting because the club needs “a different voice.”
Aside from the three Champions League titles, the 45-year-old also led the club to one La Liga triumph.
Zidane told the news conference that “everything changes” and “that’s why I took this decision”.
“I love this club,” he added.
“What I think is that this team needs to continue winning but I think it needs a change, a different voice, another methodology. And that’s why I took this decision.”
The timing of Zidane’s announcement comes on the back of a confusion caused by star player Cristiano Ronaldo, whose comments – “It was nice to be at Real Madrid,” – were interpreted as him having played his last game for the Spanish giants.
Asked to clarify the comments later, he said “I’m not upset because I know what I give to the club… I cannot guarantee anything. I’m not going to hide, in the next few days I’ll talk… Life is not just about glory.”
