Zinedine Zidane's close friend makes new revelation about Man Utd's interest in him

Manchester United and another Premier League club offered Zinedine Zidane a 'blank cheque' in order to convince him to join, according to one of his former France teammates, but he turned them down.

Zidane, who has been out of work since 2021, when he left Real Madrid after lifting three Champions League titles, has received numerous proposals since – including a lucrative offer from Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal.

Ahead of the upcoming 32-team Club World Cup, Zidane was offered a staggering €100 million (£84m) to commit to a one-year contract at the Riyadh-based club.

But clearly he isn't attracted to the vast sums on offer as the Frenchman rejected their proposal, according to L'Equipe, with Al Hilal eventually swooping for Simone Inzaghi, a day after he left Champions League finalists Inter Milan.

Zidane has also been linked with the manager's job at Old Trafford for a number of years, although shortly after leaving Madrid – when the Frenchman was being tipped to replace Ole Gunnar Solskjaer – he soon put the rumours to bed.

"Would I want to go to Manchester [United]? I understand English, but I'm not completely fluent in it," he told L'Equipe.

"I know that there are coaches who go to clubs without speaking the language, but I work in a different way. Many elements come into play in order to win, it is a global context. I know what I need to win."

Three years prior to those comments, Zidane's agent, Alain Migliaccio, explained why the Ballon d'Or winner would not be suited to a job in the Premier League.

"I do not think that he will manage in England," Migliaccio said. "It is much less his style. I have discussed it with him, it does not really attract him."

On the subject of Saudi and United, former France teammate Marcel Desailly gave his take on Zidane being linked with the job at Al Hilal as he brought up the so-called 'blank cheque' offer from the Manchester club, as well as Chelsea.

Speaking to Oddspedia, he said: "Will Zinedine Zidane be tempted by Saudi Arabia? Well he had a blank cheque on the table from Chelsea and a blank cheque from Manchester United and turned them down – he isn’t in it for the money.

"I don’t see why money will change anything, I know privately that he won’t change his lifestyle. He likes to travel and always keeps an eye on the France national team."

Desailly and Zidane are good friends. Image credit: Getty

Desailly backed Zidane to replace Didier Deschamps, who will leave his role as the head coach of the France national team after the 2026 World Cup.

"He’s ready because Didier Deschamps has started the transition," he said. "France will be one of the favourites for the World Cup and win or lose it’s not the end of this era for France.

"Since 2016, France have been growing and growing. New players have come into the team constantly and now they have the right players. Rayan Cherki is one of them alongside Ousmane Dembele, Kylian Mbappe is still there and on top of his game.

"There is a real dynamic. William Saliba is in defence with Ibrahima Konate, Bayern have Dayot Upamecano. There is a squad and a philosophy and Zidane will know how to take that on to rebuild his own team. For another eight years at least France will be at the top level in Europe."