Zidane to Man Utd? Petit reveals the TRUTH

Cameron Smith

17 Oct 2024 12:45 BST
4 min read

Zinedine Zidane, Man Utd, 2023 — © IMAGO

Zinedine Zidane is extremely unlikely to become the next Manchester United manager, according to his former France team-mate Emmanuel Petit.

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Zidane, 52, has been out of work since resigning as Real Madrid boss in 2021, but he has been widely tipped to replace Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford.

The Dutchman guided Man Utd to their worst finishing position in Premier League history last season, while they are currently 14th in the English top flight table, having picked up just eight points from their opening seven league matches.

Thomas Tuchel has ruled himself out of contention to replace Ten Hag after becoming the new England head coach, while other candidates reportedly include Graham Potter and Edin Terzic.

Zidane is also a contender, although the Real Madrid legend is highly unlikely to join Man Utd.

That is according to former Arsenal and Chelsea midfielder Petit, who told the Manchester Evening News: “Does he [Zidane] want to leave the sunny days of Madrid? His life is in Madrid, he is dedicated to Madrid.

“I'm not sure that he speaks very good English as well. And communication is very important in the dressing room.

“Honestly, I know a little bit, Zizou [Zidane], and he needs to get guarantees if he wants to sign over there in Manchester United. At the moment, the environment at Manchester United for years has not been good.

© IMAGO - Zinedine Zidane has been linked with the Man Utd job

“The stability of the bench, the level of the players as well, the expectation of the club is not the same that it used to be. United is still a huge club, but not on the pitch anymore. And Zizou is very conscious and very careful about that, the quality of the players.”

Petit continued: “Could he manage to overturn the situation over there? I think the only answer is yes. But at the moment, when you look at the team, I'm not convinced at all about the level of some players.

“So if I am Zizou, I think it will be very easy, actually, to answer this question [of joining United]. If I don't speak English on top of it, that will be more problems in terms of communication in the dressing room.

“If he takes the job at Manchester United, that means he's got solutions. At the moment, I'm not sure a lot of people have the solution to turn the situation at Manchester United.”