Zinedine Zidane has not been in management since leaving Real Madrid in 2021 (PA)
Zinedine Zidane would reject an approach from Manchester United, according to his former Real Madrid teammate Thomas Gravesen.
Earlier this week, reports in France claimed that United’s new co-owner, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, has identified Zidane as one of their top targets to replace Erik ten Hag as manager.
Zidane has not managed a club since leaving Real Madrid at the end of the 2020-21 campaign where he finished the season without a trophy.
The 51-year-old has previously ruled himself out of contention to become United’s next manager due to the language barrier.
And Gravesen claims that Zidane is holding out for a return to Madrid, or positions at his former club Marseille and France’s national team as Didier Deschamps’ successor.
‘I spoke to Zidane in Madrid two years ago and he told me that there are only three roles that he would like to accept,’ Gravesen told Discovery Plus.
Zinedine Zidane is reportedly on Manchester United’s shortlist (Getty)
‘And they are Marseille, [Real] Madrid and the French national team.
‘We were in Madrid two years ago and he told me exactly that. I also asked him if he was willing to manage again and there he told me that only if there were possibilities for those three.’
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When asked about Zidane potentially managing United, Gravesen replied: ‘I would say that the team he had in Madrid was fantastic, and he was prepared from the beginning.
‘At United the situation is different, it is very difficult to do something with the team that Ten Hag has at the moment.’
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