The incredible reason Newcastle refused to sign Zidane for £1.2m

Football agent Barry Silkman has told an incredible story of the time Newcastle rejected a chance to sign Zinedine Zidane for £1.2 million.

Newcastle United turned down the chance to sign Zinedine Zidane back in 1996 for only £1.2 million, a deal many would’ve regarded as the bargain of the century.

Thanks to a tip-off from then-West Ham midfielder Robbie Slater, Barry Silkman noticed Zidane. The agent used his connections with the player’s club Bordeaux to offer him to then-Newcastle manager Kevin Keegan, who sent a scout over to get a detailed report on the player.

But to Silkman’s utter disbelief, the scout told Keegan that Zidane had ‘no chance of making it’. He added the midfielder was only ‘good enough to play for Wolves’ – who were fighting for survival in the First Division (now known as the Championship).

“I thought I’d kill two birds with one stone and go and watch him play and see what I think,” Silkman told talkSPORT.

“The day I went to watch him play he actually had the flu, and they only brought him on at half-time, but he scored one goal and made two others.

“After ten minutes, I said to Robbie [Slater] we’ve got to try and bring him back here.

“I went back to [fellow agent] Jerome [Anderson] and said ‘I’ve watched the player and I’m going to put him in with Kevin Keegan and if a deal gets done, I’ll make sure you are looked after’.

“He said ‘that would be fantastic’.”

🗣️ Barry Silkman on Zinedine Zidane:

"I offered him to Newcastle at the beginning of the 1996 season for £1.2m. They watched him and said that he wasn’t good enough to play in the First Division."

Imagine 😂 pic.twitter.com/J6HY7r8vWD

— Footy Accumulators (@FootyAccums) July 16, 2021

Silkman continued: “I spoke with Kevin and said I’ve seen this player out in France and he looks absolutely fantastic. His name is Zinedine Zidane. He was 24, and this was in the January of 1996.

“Kevin said to me he would get somebody on it and has someone out in France and he knows the players and would get him watched.

“I said ‘Kev, one million percent he will be good enough’.

“While I was there, I went to see the president of Bordeaux and he told me they wanted £1.2 million and if they got that, they would pay me a small commission out of it. I thought there was probably a deal to be done a £1million, but if I stick to £1.2 million then at least I’m safe.

“I told Kevin the price was £1.2 million. He sent somebody to watch him and then a couple of days after that he sent me a fax.

“He got his report back from the guy who watched him and said the player has got no chance of making it, at best he could play for Wolves – who were bottom of the First Division.

“I phoned Kevin and said ‘who on earth have you sent to watch this player, it must be f***ing Stevie Wonder or Ray Charles’.

“Kevin laughed and said that was the guy they relied on in France and that’s his report. He said he’s watched the player, knows the player, and doesn’t think he’s good enough to play for Wolves and they are bottom of the First Division.”

Zidane later won Ligue 1 player of the Season that year and sealed a transfer to Juventus. He became a Ballon d’Or winner in 1998 and led France to World Cup and European glory during an illustrious career.

The midfielder soon took his talents to Real Madrid and memorably scored the winner in the club’s Champions League final win over Bayer Leverkusen in 2002.

Zidane hung up his boots in 2006 and is now widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time.

Blackburn Rovers also rejected a chance to sign a young Zidane after winning the Premier League title in 1995.