Zidane to announce final decision on Real Madrid future to Florentino Pérez
Florentino Pérez and Zidane are set for a meeting next week at which the coach will announce to the club president whether he will leave Madrid.
A decisive moment is approaching that will surely mark the short-term future of Real Madrid. As AS understands, Florentino Pérez and Zidane have been summoned to a meeting that will take place early next week, once the LaLiga title has been decided. The last face-to-face meeting in which the coach has to announce to the president whether he is leaving Real Madrid or whether he feels strong enough to begin another club rebuild.
Allegri in pole position for Madrid role
Florentino Pérez's position with regard to Zidane has been one of maximum respect at all times. This newspaper exclusively revealed on Sunday morning that Allegri is best placed to replace the French coach should he leave, but even in this case contact has not been made in any official way. Allegri and his agent know, from third parties, that the possibility of coaching Madrid is open, and the Italian coach has decided to stop negotiations with other clubs while waiting for a possible opportunity. Similarly, Allegri was told that Madrid wanted to be very respectful with Zidane, that they were counting on him in case he wanted to continue and that it is the Frenchman who has the last word.
See also:
Raúl makes himself available
Raúl is the other party affected by Zidane's possible departure. Likewise, he and his team are on alert with the possibility of a first-team move becoming available. The Real Madrid legend has had the opportunity to speak about the situation. "I'm a club man and I want to stay," he said recently after Castilla missed out on promotion to Spain's second tier, where he also made it clear that the possibility of a move to the Bundesliga was out of the question. Raúl has a firm offer from Eintracht Frankfurt. For Madrid, the ideal situation if Zidane leaves is for Allegri to take the reins and for Raúl to continue to develop as a top-level coach for when he is needed.
Final meeting
Now it is Zidane who has the say. He has not yet communicated his decision to the Madrid board and will do so directly to Florentino in this private meeting. There is a lot to talk about. It is up to Zidane to decide if he feels strong enough to face the renewal of the squad. It happened to Del Bosque with the Spanish national team. It is hard to do without players who have given you so much and with whom you have won everything.
This rebuild will by no means be carried out overnight, but the fact is that there are players who are well over 30, such as Modric, Marcelo, Kroos, Bale and Benzema, who must gradually make way for the new generation of youth players and the stars who are yet to come. For next season, Alaba is set to arrive, one priority signing player, possibly Mbappé or Haaland, as well as the return of some important loanees such as Odegaard.