Zinedine Zidane steps down as Real Madrid manager

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Bengaluru, May 27: Zinedine Zidane's career as head coach of Real Madrid has come to an end after a trophy-less 2020-21 season.

Madrid finished as runners-up in La Liga, while they were knocked out in the Champions League semifinals and exited in the last 32 of the Copa del Rey.

The French World Cup-winner had returned to take charge of Los Blancos in 2019, after a previous stint from 2016 to 2018 where they won Europe's continental crown three times in a row.

"Real Madrid CF announces that Zinedine Zidane has decided to bring an end to his current spell as head coach of our club," the club announced on Twitter.

"We must now respect his decision and express our gratitude for his professionalism, dedication and passion over the years and what he means to Real Madrid.

Zidane is one of Real Madrid's great icons and his legacy extends beyond what he has achieved as a coach and player at our club.

He is aware that he has a place in the hearts of the Real Madrid fans and that he will always have a home at Real Madrid," the club tweet added.

In total, Zidane was in charge of 263 games at Real, with 174 wins collected and suffered just 36 defeats.

It was only recently that Zidane, who has a contract until 2022, denied media speculation that he had already told his players that he would be leaving at the end of the season.

But the grapevine is that the 48-year-old had requested a few days to consider his options and has now made his final decision and contacted his players individually.

Two league titles and three Champions League triumphs in two spells as coach since 2016 has been the highlight of his Madrid coaching career.

(With inputs from Agencies)