The legendary Frenchman’s second tenure at Los Blancos was just two seasons long as he stepped down from his position after a trophyless 2020/21.
Florentino Perez insists he “spent an afternoon” trying to persuade Zinedine Zidane to stay put at Real Madrid while blaming the media for his departure.
Zidane scaled great heights of success during his time at Real Madrid, with guiding the club to three consecutive Champions League titles being his most extraordinary achievement.
However, the 49-year-old will not exactly be nostalgic when looking back at his final season at the club.
Los Blancos lost their La Liga crown to local rivals Atletico Madrid, suffered a shock Copa del Rey exit, were dumped out of the Supercopa de Espana. The iconic former footballer also had to deal with a serious injury crisis.
Zidane, though, cited a lack of trust and support from the club’s board in his bombshell of a farewell letter to the Real Madrid fans. However, Perez maintains it was due to the pressure from the Spanish media.
“Knowing Zidane, I wasn’t surprised when he left,” the Real Madrid president told Onda Cero’s El Transistor’s program. “I expected it after that tough season.
“Think about it, if you had to do 4 press conferences a week with some of the questions that get asked. It’s tiring.
“I spent an afternoon trying to convince him. I fought for him to stay, tried to convince him, but he decided to leave.
“If you ask Zidane the same thing eight times in each press conference for a whole year, of course he gets tired. I don’t think he has any issue with me.
“I did not read the letter. I don’t think it was written by him, someone wrote it for him.”
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