According to AS, Florentino Pérez personally made the call to Zidane in the days before Xabi Alonso's departure, at a point when it was already clear Alonso's tenure was not going to survive much longer.
The intention was to bring the three-time Champions League winning coach back to the Santiago Bernabéu, where he previously managed from 2016 to 2018 and again from 2019 to 2021, winning 11 trophies across the two spells.
Zidane declined. His reason was straightforward: he had already given his word to the Fédération Française de Football that he would succeed Didier Deschamps following the 2026 World Cup this summer. With that commitment already made, a return to club management — even at Real Madrid — was not something he was prepared to honour.
AS noted that the call came slightly too late, implying that had the approach arrived earlier, before Zidane had finalised his agreement with the FFF, the answer might have been different.
The outlet described Zidane's long-standing view of his future as operating between two possible scenarios only — the France national team or a return to Real Madrid — and that he had turned down numerous other offers over the past five years in order to keep both options open.
With Zidane unavailable, Pérez appointed Álvaro Arbeloa, the former Real Madrid defender who had been managing their B side, as interim head coach. Arbeloa will not be in charge next season.
The managerial search continues. Jose Mourinho, Mauricio Pochettino, Unai Emery and Lionel Scaloni have all been mentioned, though Mourinho denied this week that any contact has taken place. Klopp's candidacy, which had attracted significant attention, appears to have fallen away.
For Real Madrid, the question of who inherits one of the most demanding jobs in football remains unresolved — and the man who won the job three times appears set to spend his future elsewhere.