Zinedine Zidane's former teammate names only teams Frenchman would manage

Thomas Gravesen, a former teammate of Zinedine Zidane at Real Madrid, has revealed a conversation he held with the Frenchman in which he named the only three teams he would consider managing.

Zidane has been out of work since his departure from Madrid in 2021, having won two La Liga titles and three Champions Leagues across two spells with the club.

Reports have recently claimed Zidane sits at the top of Manchester United's wish list to replace Erik ten Hag, although the Frenchman has previously insisted his inability to speak fluent English would stop him from coaching in the Premier League.

Gravesen has also ruled United out of the race for Zidane's signature by recalling a conversation he had with his former teammate two years ago in which Zidane stressed he would only ever manage three specific teams.

"I spoke to Zidane in Madrid two years ago and he told me that there are only three roles that he would like to accept," Gravesen explained to Discovery+. "And they are Marseille, Madrid and the French national team. We were in Madrid two years ago and he told me exactly that.

"I also asked him if he was willing to manage again, and he told me that the possibility only existed for those three teams."

Pressed on why Zidane would snub the chance to move to United, Gravesen added: "I would say that the team he had in Madrid was fantastic, and he was prepared from the beginning.

"At United, the situation is different, it is very difficult to do something with the team that Ten Hag has at the moment."

Ten Hag has continued to reject claims he feels under pressure following Sir Jim Ratcliffe's minority takeover of United, insisting he has seen nothing but support from the new shot-callers at Old Trafford.

As for Zidane, he recently flirted with a return to Serie A, where he spent five years with Juventus before his switch to Madrid.

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