Overview
- Zidane, contacted in December 2025 according to AS reports relayed by Football España and Goal, turned the job down because he plans to take over France after the 2026 World Cup.
- After Xabi Alonso left in January, Álvaro Arbeloa stepped in as interim, but Madrid trail Barcelona by 12 points in La Liga and went out to Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals.
- Club leaders are conducting an active search for a permanent head coach to replace Arbeloa, whose stint is widely viewed as temporary.
- Shortlists reported in Spain and the UK name Didier Deschamps, José Mourinho, Mauricio Pochettino, Unai Emery and Massimiliano Allegri, while Jürgen Klopp is described as unlikely.
- Mourinho said “nobody from Real Madrid” had contacted him, and reports of friction among Kylian Mbappé, Vinícius Júnior and Jude Bellingham increase pressure to pick a strong dressing-room leader.