The ‘Real’ Reason Zidane turned down Manchester United

It is no secret that English Premier League club, Manchester United wanted Zinedine Zidane as its manager prior and after the sacking of Ole Gunnar Solksjaer.

Of course, there were lots of names touted around for the Old Trafford job, including Ajax’s then manager and United’s current manager, Erik ten Haag, Mauricio Pochettino, Antonio Conte.

But the eventual man the club settled on during that time was Ralf Ragnick, who the United board hired under interim basis.

Now, the French man has opened up on what really happened and why he turned down the idea of taking up the daunting job.

Of course, the popular reason was that the former Madrid boss had difficult with the English Language, which some surmised would make communication a problem with the players.

Zidane sees it differently though.

The ex-midfielder revealed, though his English was bad, taking up a coaching job didn’t ultimately fall on a manager’s fluency or understanding of the general language.

“Would I want to go to Manchester [United]? I understand English, but I’m not completely fluent in it.” he said.

“I know that there are coaches who go to clubs without speaking the language, but I work in a different way.

“Many elements come into play in order to win, it is a global context. I know what I need to win.” the Frenchman told Marca.

Zinedine Zidane, in his time as manager, led Real Madrid to three consecutive Champions League titles in 2016, 2017 and 2018, beating United’s arch rivals, Liverpool along the way.

He achieved this feat with current Manchester United players, Raphael Varane and Cristiano Ronaldo in the team, which made the reports of him trading life in France for Manchester all the more interesting for pundits then.

But sadly, the narratives couldn’t be made as it ended up not happening.