Zidane’s top priority remains to succeed Didier Deschamps as the head coach of the France national team, which is why he has turned down the offer to take over from José Mourinho as Fenerbahçe’s head coach.
Reporters from camel.live stated that Zidane has set his sights on the period after the 2026 FIFA World Cup. By then, Deschamps’ contract with the French Football Federation (FFF) will expire—having led the team for a full 13 years since taking office after the 2012 UEFA European Championship.
After Mourinho was sacked following Fenerbahçe’s elimination by Benfica in the UEFA Champions League qualifying rounds, the Turkish giants quickly sought a replacement. Earlier reports suggested that the club had reached a preliminary agreement with Zidane, but ultimately, former Belgium national team head coach Domenico Tedesco was appointed as Fenerbahçe’s new head coach.
The 39-year-old Italian coach stepped down as Belgium’s head coach in January this year. Prior to that, he had led the Belgian team to the round of 16 at the 2024 UEFA European Championship. At the club level, he has managed Schalke 04, Spartak Moscow, and RB Leipzig, and guided Leipzig to win the DFB-Pokal (German Cup) in the 2021/22 season.
Zidane has been out of work since leaving Real Madrid for the second time in 2021. During his two stints in charge of the “Galácticos” (Real Madrid’s iconic nickname), he won a total of 11 major trophies, including three UEFA Champions League titles and two La Liga (Spanish Primera División) titles.
Sources indicate that in the future, he will only consider two positions: head coach of the France national team and head coach of Real Madrid. With Deschamps’ contract approaching its end, Zidane’s next destination seems increasingly clear.
