Zinedine Zidane has replaced Rafa Benitez as the new coach of Real Madrid. The club’s president, Florentino Pérez, revealed the appointment at a press conference held at the Santiago Bernabéu following the conclusion of the meeting of the club’s Board of Directors:

“Good evening, first of all thank you to everyone for being here at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu. I appear before you to announce the agreements just reached by the Board of Directors of Real Madrid. Today we have made the difficult decision, particularly for me, to terminate the contract of Rafa Benítez as first-team coach.I wish to underline that he is a great professional and a magnificent person, and I would like to take this opportunity to place on record my gratitude to him for his hard work and dedication during his months as coach of Real Madrid”.I would also like to announce that the Real Madrid Board of Directors have decided to name Zinedine Zidane as the new coach of the first team. There can be no doubt that Zidane is one of the game’s all-time great figures. He knows better than anyone just what it means to lead the Real Madrid first-team squad. He’s fully aware of how tough and at the same time how exciting this demanding position is. Furthermore, Zidane knows the players, as many of them lifted the club’s tenth European Cup in Lisbon with him as assistant coach”.