Zinedine Zidane would have 'definitely' turned down chance to manage Chelsea, according to Emmanuel Petit

Zinedine Zidane would have "definitely" turned down the Chelsea job, according to Emmanuel Petit, who has provided an insight into the former Real Madrid manager's mindset.

It was announced on Thursday that Frank Lampard will return to the Stamford Bridge dugout as Chelsea's caretaker manager, just two years after he was sacked by the Premier League club.

"I want to do the best possible role I can and after that we will see what happens," Lampard said. "I am not getting anywhere ahead of myself."

He added: "I understand I will get asked that question a lot. I have my eyes wide open. The important thing for me is to park that and focus on the job in hand."

Chelsea are set to assess up to seven candidates for the permanent role, according to reports, including Julian Nagelsmann, Luis Enrique, Mauricio Pochettino and Ruben Amorim.

But someone who will "definitely" turn down the role is Zinedine Zidane. Well that's according to former Chelsea and France midfielder Emmanuel Petit.

"Zidane, he won’t come, definitely," Petit told Stadium Astro. "You know why? Because he’s not speaking English."

Petit added: "I’ve known Zidane for ages and the way he manages players, he’s very close to his players, he always talks to his players.

"He wants the communication to be a priority for him, it’s very important for him. He doesn’t want someone to translate everything he has to say, publicly. Simple."

Before Petit made those comments, former Chelsea defender Glen Johnson said Chelsea could have made a statement and "excite everybody" by bringing in Zidane.

"When we talk about people walking through the doors and making an instant impact, blimey if Zidane walked through the doors at Stamford Bridge and into that dressing room – that’s a statement,’ Johnson told DAZN Bet.

"Whether or not he wants to do it is a different question, but I think that would excite everybody.

"It depends on where he is in his life at the moment, because I am pretty sure he is having a good time!

"When you get top players that become top managers, there is nothing that man hasn’t done that would be a huge impact and super exciting for anything involved with Chelsea."

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Featured Image Credit: Alamy

Topics: Chelsea, Zinedine Zidane, Premier League, La Liga

Jack Kenmare

Senior Journalist at SPORTbible with a passion for long-form journalism. Almost 10 years’ experience across online and print.

@jackkenmare_