Zidane tells Real Madrid: sign rising Ligue 1 star and I'll return

Stuart Telford

• 10 Feb 2023 12:38 CST
• 3 min read

Zinedine Zidane has been linked with a sensational return to Real Madrid, but he will reportedly only take the reins on one condition…

Zidane has already had two stints as Real Madrid manager, and guided them to three consecutive Champions League triumphs between 2016 and 2018, but he has been out of work since leaving them for a second time in 2021.

But there could soon be an opening at the Santiago Bernabeu, with Real currently trailing Clasico rivals Barcelona by eight points at the top of La Liga and current head coach Carlo Ancelotti linked with the vacant manager role with Brazil.

READ: Man Utd, Real Madrid on alert: Zidane wants club job with Deschamps extending

A former Galactico who also won the Champions League as a Real player in 2002 - scoring one of the competition's all-time great goals in the final against Bayer Leverkusen - Zidane has been captivated by a player he sees as his potential successor according to Spanish daily, Sport.

— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) August 29, 2022

Zidane wants Cherki

"The French coach is currently without a team but wouldn't be averse to returning to the Bernabeu bench as long as Florentino Perez could guarantee him Rayan Cherki," they write. "The midfielder has captured the les Bleus legend."

Zidane tried to sign Cherki for Real in 2020 amid interest in the Lyon youngster from Manchester United, but he left soon after those negotiations and the rising star stayed put.

READ: PSG bid for Lyon prodigy Cherki

Widely regarded as one of the most promising talents ever to come out of the Lyon academy - which is saying something given Real's current Ballon d'Or winner Karim Benzema was also produced there - Cherki has nearly 100 appearances for OL at the tender age of 19.

He has sometimes struggled to win the trust of his managers in the senior set-up, but Zidane's former international teammate Laurent Blanc - a fellow France '98 World Cup winner - has used him in 19 of a possible 22 Ligue 1 games this season.