Zidane rubbishes Mourinho rift rumours

Zinedine Zidane has played down rumours of a rift with Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho, insisting their relationship has always been the same.

The former midfielder recently vacated his role of sporting director at the Santiago Bernabeu after the Portuguese boss revealed on Saturday that his colleague had said ‘goodbye more than two months ago’.

However, Zidane maintains that despite the reduced contact between him and Mourinho, the two remain on good terms, while also confirming he is still at the club for the time being.

“My relationship with Mourinho is the same as it’s always been. I’m still working at Real Madrid, with the youth academy,” the 1998 World Cup winner told Marca.

“In the meantime, I’m working towards my coaching badges, and then we’ll see what happens next year. I said a long time ago that I wanted to be a coach.”