Zinedine Zidane 'Reaches Agreement to Join Shock European Club'
A European club have reportedly reached an agreement with Zinedine Zidane to become their next head coach, according to the country’s media.
Zidane, 53, has been without a managerial role since stepping down as Real Madrid head coach in 2021.
During his time with Los Blancos, he won a total of 11 trophies - three consecutive UEFA Champions League titles, two La Liga titles, two FIFA Club World Cups, two UEFA Super Cups, and two Supercopa de España titles - across two spells in charge of the La Liga giants.
And since departing Real in May of 2021, ‘Zizou’ is yet to return to management – although it has been widely reported that he is holding out for the France national team job as current head coach Didier Deschamps is due to step down from the role after next summer’s World Cup.
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The 53-year-old previously expressed his desire to manage France during an interview with Spanish outlet MARCA earlier this year.
“When the time comes, it will be a great pleasure if the opportunity arises,” Zidane explained.
“I've put my career on hold for a while, but I fully feel like a coach.”
And just when his next career step seemed all but guaranteed, he has now reportedly reached an agreement with a club outside of Europe’s top five leagues.
On Monday (September 8), it was widely reported by Turkish media - with the story appearing to originate from Sabah – that Zidane has engaged in talks with Fenerbahce to become their next head coach. Meanwhile Oksijen claimed that the Frenchman has “reached a preliminary agreement” to take over as the club's boss.
The outlet suggested that Zidane is due to travel to Turkey after "negotiations on salary and contract details are completed".
It must be noted that the reports are mostly coming from Turkish media at this time, and there’s no suggestion that Zidane’s arrival is imminent.
This comes after the club sacked Jose Mourinho earlier this month, as the Portuguese failed to capture silverware in his year-long spell in Istanbul.
The club’s president, Alic Koç, has since admitted that the decision to sack Mourinho was painful but maintained that it was necessary for the team to “play better football”.
Mourinho guided Fenerbahce to a second-place finish in 2024/25 but ultimately finished behind the club’s arch-rivals, Galatasaray, as they secured their 25th league title.
Can Fenerbahce afford to appoint Zinedine Zidane?
Well, as you may expect, the answer is not straightforward, but there’s no doubt Turkish football is awash with money.
This summer, several high-profile players have joined Turkish side’s including Andre Onana, who has completed a season-long loan move from Manchester United to Trabzonspor, while former Manchester City and Bayern Munich winger Leroy Sane joined Galatasaray on a free transfer but is expected to earn at least £7.66m per year plus a loyalty bonus, according to BBC Sport.
During the transfer window, Fene have welcomed several recruits, with ex-Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson and former Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Marco Asensio among an array of quality arrivals.
Ilkay Gundogan also joined Gala on a free transfer.
According to Transfermarkt, Fenerbahce have spent €87million (£75.4m) on transfers, and that’s without factoring in a reported £7.7m pay-off for the now departed Mourinho, according to Turkish journalist Yagiz Sabuncuoglu, relayed by the Mail.
But it would be safe to assume that Zidane may expect a larger salary than that if he were to make the move to Turkey official.
In 2024, The Mirror reported that the 53-year-old earned around €12m (£10m) per year for his work coaching Real.
Alongside his salary, the 1998 World Cup winner would’ve also earned a fortune from his various endorsements with Adidas and Dior.
So how will Fenerbahce find the money?
According to CBS, Turkey’s football teams appear to be benefiting from wider economic difficulties.
The report claims that annual consumer price inflation sits at 33.5% - which is bad for normal people – but can benefit football clubs who are paid in Euros rather than the Turkish Lira for their participation in UEFA-sanctioned competitions.
Big money signings from Europe are often paid in Euros, while Turkish players may be paid in Lira.
In 2019, Turkey’s banking association announced debt restructuring plans, easing pressure on clubs with overall Turkish club debt having fallen by 19% between 2019 and 2023.
What are the other barriers to his potential arrival?
An obvious issue for Zidane would be the language barrier. In the Turkish capital of Istanbul, the most widely spoken language is, of course, Turkish, with Kurdish and Arabic also significantly used.
The former midfielder previously referenced his lack of English as part of the reason why he could not manage Man United.
Speaking to L’Equipe in 2024, Zidane explained how he could understand English but did not feel proficient enough to manage in an English environment.
“I understand English, but I'm not completely fluent in it,” he said. “I know that there are coaches who go to clubs without speaking the language, but I work in a different way.”
Zidane is fluent in both French and Spanish, but both languages are not widely spoken in Turkey.
Topics: Fenerbahce, Football, Jose Mourinho, Turkish Super Lig, Zinedine Zidane, Turkey, Real Madrid
Luke Davies