Real Madrid icon Zinedine Zidane ‘dream target’ for Serie A return

Former Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane is expected to return to football in 2025.

The French coach has been away from the dugout since his departure from a second spell in the Spanish capital in April 2021.

Despite a sizeable gap of being out of the game, Zidane’s stock remains high, based on his sensational time at the helm of Los Blancos.

The former midfielder led the club to two La Liga titles and three successive UEFA Champions League trophies – with the latter a feat which had never been done before or repeated since.

Links to a Premier League move have not developed with Zidane highly rumoured to be holding out for the France national team job.

Current Les Bleus leader Didier Deschamps has confirmed his plan to step down after the 2026 FIFA World Cup next summer and Zidane is the red-hot favourite to take over.

It is an open secret in French football that Zidane wants the job with current captain Kylian Mbappe offering his backing to a return for one of France’s most iconic players.

However, a deal is not straightforward, and Zidane could be offered a club job before Deschamps moves on.

As per reports from Italian outlet Gazzetta dello Sport, one of Zidane’s other former clubs are also interested in a reunion, with Juventus considering sacking Thiago Motta.

Motta made the move to Turin, after an exceptional 2023/24 campaign at Bologna, as he led the club to a first-ever Champions League qualification.

However, he is under pressure after a mixed first year at Juventus, as they battle to secure UCL qualification for next season.

The report claims Zidane is not the only potential candidate, with Igor Tudor and Roberto Mancini also considered, but he is the ‘dream pick’ of certain board members if Motta moves on.

Zidane is unlikely to make a decision on anything until the summer, where he will speak with the French FA after the Nations League finals, if they qualify.