French side Monaco want to appoint Real Madrid legend Zinedine Zidane as their new boss, according to a report in L’Equipe.
The French sports paper said the current Los Blancos assistant manager ia being targeted by Dmitry Rybolovlev, the Russian billionaire who owns the Principality club.
Current boss Claudio Ranieri is under pressure with a number of players understood to be unhappy with his training methods. Big money signings such as Falcao, James Rodriguez and Joao Moutinho have failed to live up to expectation, and L’Equipe says Rybolovlev wants Zidane to manage the big egos in the dressing room.
A move to the south of France would mean a first management job for the France legend, who is believed to be prepared to take over the hotseat at the Santiago Bernabeu in 2016 when Carlo Ancelotti’s contract expires.
The former playmaker became an assistant to Ancelotti at the start of this season following the departure of Jose Mourinho. He had held previous roles at Los Blancos including as an ambassador and sporting director, and was influential in persuading Gareth Balwe and Raphael Varane to join the club.