Real Madrid had deal in place with Mané, complicated by Zidane exit - report

Real Madrid had a deal in place with represenatives of Sadio Mane to bring the Senegalese attacker to the Santiago Bernabeu before Zinedine Zidane's departure put the potential kibosh on the move according to France Football. A move could still go ahead but Zidane's resignation leaves the deal hanging in the balance as a planned summer of spending needs to be rejigged sans Zizou.

All that was left to sign Mane was to convince Liverpool to part with the player but Mané was reportedly keen and gave the go-ahead to the move. With that agreement still in place, it will depend on Zidane's replacement as to whether he wants to push ahead with the pursuit of the Champions League final goalscorer for the Reds.

Florentino Perez had okayed the move too, knowing that his side were lacking something all year as they, Zidane and the president, set to fix the problems that presented themselves last season. Real Madrid finished third in the league and a whole 16 points behind Barcelona. They were knocked out of the Copa del Rey too with Zinedine Zidane saying the defeat to Leganes in the competition was his worst memory on Real Madrid's bench.