Zinedine Zidane says he is stepping down as Real Madrid boss, five days after leading them to a third straight Champions League triumph, claiming the club needs “a different voice”.
Zidane told a news conference that “everything changes” and “that’s why I took this decision”.
He leaves having guided the Spanish club to three successive Champions League titles and one La Liga success since taking over in January 2016.
“I love this club,” he added.
“What I think is that this team needs to continue winning but I think it needs a change, a different voice, another methodology.
“This is the right moment for all involved – for me, for the squad, for the club.”
Zidane, 45, took over after Rafael Benitez was sacked and was in charge for 149 games. He steered Real to 104 wins and 29 draws, had a 69.8% win rate, and won nine trophies.
However, Real finished third in La Liga in 2017-18 – 17 points behind champions and fierce rivals Barcelona – while they were knocked out of the Copa del Rey at the quarter-final stage by Leganes.
Zidane said in February he would walk away if he felt “there is nothing more to give”.
However, the timing of his announcement still came as a shock, just days after Real beat Liverpool 3-1 in the Champions League final.
That win saw him join Bob Paisley (three at Liverpool) and Carlo Ancelotti (AC Milan two, Real Madrid one) as the only managers to have won the Champions League/European Cup three times.
“I had to do this for everyone,” added Zidane on Thursday.
Source: BBC Sport
