Real Madrid players did not want Mourinho

Bengaluru, March 12: It has been a terrible season so far for Real Madrid. They are already knocked out of the Champions League and are also far off the league leaders Barcelona in La Liga while they were knocked out of Copa del Rey by their rivals Barcelona.

The Los Blancos reappointed Zinedine Zidane as their manager on Monday (March 11).

Zidane, who led them to a stunning three consecutive Champions League titles, has returned just 10 months after leaving the Spanish giants. He left in May after leading the club to a third straight Champions League trophy.

Real are currently third in La Liga, 12 points behind leaders Barcelona.

Solari was sacked after a 4-1 win over Real Valladolid on Sunday which followed a shock Champions League exit to Ajax.

Jose Mourinho, another former boss, was reportedly a target for Real Madrid hierarchy but it is believed that many of the star players at Santiago Bernabeu were against the appointment of the Portuguese.

Karim Benzema, Sergio Ramos, Luka Modric and Toni Kroos were all believed to be against the idea of re-hiring of Mourinho.

Meanwhile, the fans also were believed to be against the idea as they reportedly believed that it could worsen their situation.

Zidane will have an uphill task on his hand and he will be without his biggest soldier of his previous term i.e. Cristiano Ronaldo.

Real Madrid have not adequately replaced Cristiano Ronaldo, who left for Juventus in the summer, and Karim Benzema the only Real player to reach double figures in La Liga (13) has not hit the level of expectation.

The French forward has scored 22 goals in all competitions, while Gareth Bale has 13 and Sergio Ramos has 11.

A few of the club's other star players like Marcelo, Kroos, Modric, Isco have all struggled this campaign but the arrival of Zidane could certainly make things much better.