It has taken him some time, but Zinedine Zidane has finally broken his silence after his Real Madrid departure, writing an open letter to the Blancos fans to explain his decision to walk away from the club once again.
It has been four days since the Spanish giants announced the Frenchman's resignation. His exit had been months in the making, with Thursday's announcement merely confirming what many knew to be inevitable.
The 48-year-old, who made history by coaching Los Merengues to three consecutive UEFA Champions League titles, had sat through many press conference where his future at the club was questioned. This was even before Atletico Madrid had gotten their hands on the Spanish top-flight campaign, condemning Real Madrid to their first trophyless season in 11 years.
The club and the fans have been here before – Zizou infamously walked out on the club back in 2018 only to return 10 months later. However, as said in his own words, that situation differs gravely from the current circumstance. Back then, the Frenchman felt that he had given the club his all and that the team was in need of new direction in order to remain at the top. This time around, however, the 1998 World Cup winner decided to quit due to a lack of support and respect from the higher-ups.
Constantly leaking rumors of a managerial change doesn't bide well for the head coach, it appears. While Zidane was full of praise for president Florentino Perez over the role he played in his arrival at Real Madrid, both as a player and manager, the Frenchman openly admitted to having grievances with the manner in which he was treated during the recent season.
"Dear Real Madrid fans," Zidane said in his letter, as published by AS.
"For more than 20 years, from the first day I arrived in Madrid and wore the white shirt, you've shown me your love. I've always felt that there was something very special between us. I've had the huge honor of being a player and the coach of the greatest club in history, but above all I'm just another Real Madrid fan. For all these reasons I wanted to write this letter, to say goodbye to you and explain my decision to leave the coaching job.
"When, in March 2019, I accepted the offer to return to Real Madrid after a break of eight months it was, of course, because president Florentino Perez asked me, but also because all of you asked me every day to do so. When I met any of you in the street, I felt your support and the desire to see me with the team again. Because I share the values of Real Madrid; this club belongs to its members, its fans and the entire world. I've tried to follow these values in everything I have done, and I've tried to be an example.
"Being at Real Madrid for 20 years is the most beautiful thing that's happened to me in my life and I know I owe that entirely to the fact Florentino Perez backed me in 2001, he fought to get me, to bring me here when some people were against it. I say it from the heart when I say that I will always be grateful to the president for that. Always.
"I have now decided to leave and I want to properly explain the reasons. I'm going, but I'm not jumping ship, nor am I tired of coaching. In May 2018, I left because, after two and a half years, with so many victories and so many trophies, I felt the team needed a new approach to stay at the very highest level. Right now, things are different. I'm leaving because I feel the club no longer has the faith in me that I need, nor the support to build something in the medium or long term.
"I understand football and I know the demands of a club like Real Madrid. I know that, 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, with the 150 people who work with and around the team.
Could Los Blancos have done more to support Zidane?#LaLiga
— SuperSport (@SuperSportTV) May 31, 2021
"I'm a natural-born winner and I was here to win trophies, but even more important than this are the people, their feelings, life itself and I have the feeling 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 heavily criticized for it.
"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, of course not, just a little more retrospect. These days the life of a coach in the dugout at a big club is two seasons, little more. For it to last longer the human relationships are essential, they are more important than money, more important than fame, more important than 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. Luckily, I had these amazing lads who were with me to the death. When things turned ugly, they saved me with magnificent victories. Because they believed in me and knew I believed in them.
"Of course I'm not the best coach in the world, but I'm able to give everyone, whether it's a player, a member of the coaching staff or any employee, the strength and confidence they need in their job. I know perfectly well what a team needs. Over these 20 years at Real Madrid, I've learnt that you, the fans, want to win, of course, but above all you want us to give our all: the coach, the staff, the employees and of course the players. And I can assure you we've given 100% of ourselves to this club.
"I'd like to take this opportunity to send a message to the journalists. I've given hundreds of press conferences and unfortunately we have spoken very little of football, though I know that you love football, this sport that brings us together. However, and without any desire to criticise or lecture, I would have liked the questions not to have always been about controversy, that we might have talked more often about the game and above all the players, who are and always will be the most important thing in this sport. Let's not forget about football, let's care for it.
"Dear Real Madrid fans, I will always be one of you. Hala Madrid! Zinedine Zidane."
Zizou departs from the Spanish capital as one of the club's most decorated coaches, having led them to two La Liga titles, two Spanish Super Cups, two UEFA Super Cups, and two FIFA Club World Cup crowns. The search for his replacement is already underway and while Allegri is no longer a candidate, having agreed to join Juventus a few days back, Joachim Low, Antonio Conte, and Raul are said to be on their shortlist.
