Manchester United are preparing for a new era at Old Trafford under the INEOS banner, with Jim Ratcliffe set to take over the club as owner, mercifully ending the tumultuous reign of the Glazers.
Ratcliffe inherits a United side that is still somehow in Champions League contention despite a haphazardly thrown-together squad with several glaring deficiencies and a host of underperforming, highly-paid big names.
According to FootMercato.net’s Santi Aouna and Sébastien Denis, Manchester United and Jim Ratcliffe have identified Real Madrid legend Zinedine Zidane as their dream hire as manager.
United and Madrid fans have been here before, as the Red Devils showed interest in Zizou before ultimately hiring Erik ten Hag from Ajax.
At the time, Zidane had less than zero interest in working with the Glazers and United, given years of a lack of investment and an overall toxic cloud surrounding the club.
But perhaps Zizou, invigorated by a break after being burned out by the COVID-19 pandemic in the 2020/21 season, will be more open to a move to Manchester United if he buys into the new philosophy from Ratcliffe.
Zidane is picky. He only wants to manage the elite of the elite in world football. Bayern Munich appears to interest the French icon, while a return to Juventus has always been a dream of Juventini.
Manchester United could be in the mix with the right approach from Ratcliffe and the INEOS leaders. If they can hand him the keys to the kingdom and prove they will back him to completely transform the squad, this could happen.
It’s easy to forget that United are a historic, powerful club not far off from the likes of Bayern and Real Madrid in terms of prestige. Turning things around at Old Trafford can add so much to Zizou’s legacy, especially since he still has to deal with some people who doubt how much he truly influenced a Cristiano Ronaldo and Luka Modrić-led Real Madrid to the threepeat.
Former editor of The Real Champs and Old Juve, covering Real Madrid and Juventus
