Florentino Pérez already has Zidane in mind

There were hugs, confidences, mutual affection and laughter. A public face-to-face which buried, if it was not already there, any rumor of distancing between Zidane and Florentino. We must not forget that the Frenchman’s second stage on the Real Madrid bench ended with a harsh letter from Zizou in which he appreciated the two times the president had trusted him, but also pointed the finger at him: “I am leaving because I feel that the club no longer gives me the confidence I need, it does not offer me the support to build something in the medium or long term. I am a born winner and I was there to win trophies, but beyond that, there are human beings, emotions, life and I have the feeling that these things have not been valued, that we have not understood that this is also how the dynamic of a big club is maintained “Even, in a certain way, I was criticized”.

This letter, published in the newspaper “As”, broke an almost paternal relationship between the two men. If Florentino is what he is today, it is largely thanks to figures like Zidane. And the Frenchman also has a lot to thank the white leader, but in this month of May 2021 a distancing began which, over time, was forgotten. So much so that today Zidane is the number one candidate to replace Xabi if Madrid do not beat City on Wednesday. It is very difficult for Florentino, who already left on Sunday very angry, not to give up in the event of an English victory at the Bernabéu.

Zidane is therefore the president’s plan A, who is raising his head and does not see a juicy market to replace Tolosarra. There is what there is, and among this small offer, Zidane is the one who arouses the most confidence in Florentino. It will be another matter to convince him because the Frenchman has joined the French team from September. Deschamps will leave the Blues bench once the 2026 World Cup is over and after years of waiting, Zidane will finally be able to realize one of his dreams: leading France, with whom he was proclaimed world champion in 1998. Would Zidane abandon this old and long-awaited desire to sit a third time on the Bernabéu bench? Nobody knows.

It could also happen that Zidane agrees to replace Alonso only until the end of the season, but the risk is significant. It can be expensive, like in his first stage, where in five months he managed to make Madrid the champion of the Champions League. Or you can also hit him and find yourself on the French bench with a useless stain.

In the event that, once Alonso is fired, Zidane does not accept Florentino’s proposal, there would be two other names on the table. The cover is Arbeloa, current coach of Castilla and personal friend of Xabi. Curious dichotomy. Who could have told the youth team that just six months after replacing Raúl as head of the reserve team, perhaps he should join the first team to play the role of “brother”. It would be a risky and inexperienced bet, but just like with Raúl we never thought of him when there was a risk of Ancelotti’s dismissal, we have more confidence in Arbeloa.

Faith that there is practically no plan C in this. Florentino has been interested in Klopp for many years, but that doesn’t mean he will sign him. Not even now, when he is semi-retired and serves as sporting director in Red Bull’s football department. Jurgen is a coaching profile that does not match Pérez’s way of managing Madrid. A presidential club is not for the Germans, and unless one of them gives in to his way of thinking, it is an unsustainable operation.