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Le Parisien report tonight that Zinédine Zidane has been identified as the priority choice for Paris Saint-Germain’s Qatari owners, should current manager Mauricio Pochettino leave the club.
The France legend and former Real Madrid manager has long maintained cordial relations with the Gulf state via the Qatari Investment Fund (QSI), having been named ambassador for the country’s World Cup bid in 2010. Zidane himself would go on to indicate in 2019 that he had been paid €3m for lending his support to the campaign.
Zidane has been approached in the past few months by the club, at least on one occasion according to Le Parisien. The World Cup winner would be arriving in a squad in which he knows many of the players – Keylor Navas, Ángel Di María and Sergio Ramos – and has the respect of Kylian Mbappé, potentially becoming a key factor in the forward’s decision to move on or not.
The Ballon d’Or winner is looking to return to the touchlines after leaving Real Madrid last June. His name has been linked to the French national team, although there is no guarantee that he would take over from Didier Deschamps after the 2022 World Cup. Instead, Zidane would rather not miss the opportunity to manage another big club.
He has reportedly already turned down Manchester United after being approached, but is tempted by Paris Saint-Germain – although his family’s attachment to Marseille is a cause for concern on his part, before committing to a job in the capital.
