Zinedine Zidane resigned as Real Madrid boss on Friday (May 28) because he felt Los Blancos ‘no longer has faith in him’ and not that he jumped overboard or was tired of coaching.
In an open letter which was published by Spanish newspaper Diario AS on Monday, the three time Champions League winner in his first stint as Real manager, Zidane wrote, “I’m leaving because I feel the club no longer has the faith in me I need, nor the support to build something in the medium or long term.”
Real had a disappointing 2020-21 season as they failed to win any silverware for the first time under Zidane’s mentorship.
The Madrid club finished second in the La Liga table — two points behind city rivals Atletico and was also knocked out by eventual winners Chelsea in the Champions League semifinal.
They even had to suffer an embarrassing exit against third division side Alcoyano in the Copa del Rey Round of 32 match.
“I understand football and I know the demands of a club like Real Madrid. I know when you don’t win, you have to leave.
“But with this a very important thing has been forgotten, everything I built day-to-day has been forgotten, what I brought to my relationships with the players and people who work with and around the team.”
“I am a natural born winner and I was here to win trophies, but even more important than this are the people, their feelings and I have the sensation these things have not been taken into account, that there has been a failure to understand that these things also keep the dynamics of a great club going.”
“To some extent I have even been rebuked for it.”
Zidane, who won La Liga and Champions League both as a Real Madrid player and manager, said that he left the club in May 2018 ‘with so many victories and so many trophies’ because he felt the club needed a new approach to stay at the very highest level but in 2021, ‘things are different’.
“I want there to be respect for what we have achieved together.”
“I would have liked my relationship with the club and the president over the past few months to have been a little different to that of other coaches.”
“I wasn’t asking for privileges, just a little more recollection.”
The 1998 World Cup winner was also upset about constant reports throughout the season that he will sacked from his job if results don’t improve.
“These days the life of a coach in the dugout at a big club is two seasons. For it to last longer, the human relationships are essential, they are more important than money, fame and everything.”
“They need to be nurtured. That’s why it hurt me so much when I read in the press, after a defeat, that I would be sacked if I didn’t win the next game.”
“It hurt me and the whole team because these deliberately leaked messages to the media negatively influenced the squad, they created doubts and misunderstandings,” he added.
He also said, “Of course I’m not the best coach in the world, but I’m able to give everyone, whether it’s a player or the coaching staff, the strength and confidence they need in their job.
“I know perfectly well what a team needs,” he concluded.