Following the departure of Xavi for Barcelona, Al Sadd are looking for a new manager with Zinedine Zidane as their target, but it seems the Frenchman holds no interest in taking the job.
It is a managerial merry-go-round at the moment, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer fighting for dear life to hold on to his current job. Clubs have been swapping managers perceived to have delivered less than was promised.
Aston Villa, Tottenham Hotspurs, Watford, Norwich City and Newcastle are some clubs that have fired their managers this season. Steven Gerrard, Antonio Conte, Claudio Ranieri and Eddie Howe are the new replacements with Dean Smith taking over at Norwich City after Aston Villa exit.
The merry-go-round is not over with rumours surrounding Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s future at Manchester United. Despite a torrid season so far, the United hierarchy has refrained from pulling the plug on the Norwegian who has seen his side misfire this season.
Analysis by several pundits puts the performance of his galaxy of stars as justifiable grounds for relieving the manager of his job.
The availability of Zinedine Zidane has heaped more pressure on Solskjaer, following United missing out on Antonio Conte, who joined Tottenham Hotspur.
Zidane rejects Al Sadd amid United interest
FC Barcelona saw a spate of poor results push them to shove club legend and manager Ronald Koeman out of the club. After protracted negotiations, Xavi replaced the Dutchman. Without a manager, Al Sadd sought out the services of three-time Champions League-winning manager Zinedine Zidane as his replacement but has turned down the opportunity to manage the Qatari club.
The Qatari club wants a manager that matches the profile of Xavi and sees Zidane as an adequate replacement. According to Mundo Deportivo, the club approached the Real Madrid legend, who rejected the offer made to him.
Zinedine Zidane has been in limbo since leaving his Real Madrid position for the second time. Several rumours have linked Zidane with the Manchester United job, but nothing concrete has come up yet.
Wanted at Manchester United
Manchester United fans have watched their chances of winning the league for the first time since 2013 derail with the season yet to reach the halfway mark. The fans were hurt from the lacklustre performances put up every week despite over four hundred million pounds spent.
Zidane is a candidate of choice amid a clamour for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to be relieved of his job. The Sunday Times claims that United plan to sack Solskjaer with Zidane as his successor.
The club wants to use his connection with Cristiano Ronaldo and Raphael Varane to convince the Frenchman to join United. Other reports, however, suggest that the former World Cup winner has no desire to return to club management anytime soon. Reports suggest Zidane is eyeing the Les Bleus job soon to be vacated by Didier Deschamps.
By :
Steven D. Thompson
