Citing Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as the two players that make him “jump out of his seat,” Zinedine Zidane did not include any of them in his list of favourites.
Since beginning his career as a professional club manager, the iconic former France and Real Madrid player has only held two positions, and both of those positions have been at Real Madrid.
Zidane was the manager of Ronaldo during his first spell at the Bernabeu, which was also the year when the Portugal icon won the Ballon d’Or.
Nevertheless, the Frenchman chose two different Ballon d’Or winners, both of whom were Ronaldo’s former teammates at Real Madrid, when he was asked to choose the two players that caused him to “jump out of his seat” during matches. This can be considered quite odd.
Zidane provided the following explanation in an interview with Telefoot in the month of June 2023: “If there is a player who still makes me jump out of my seat, it is Karim Benzema, and possibly even Luka Modric.”
Players who, when you believe they are about to drop the ball, always manage to get away with it are the ones who are being referred to here.
“They’re the ones who drive me crazier than others, the ones who make the difference for those who are lucky enough to have them.”
At the time of Zidane’s interview, Benzema was the current winner of the Ballon d’Or and had just recently transitioned from being a player for Real Madrid to being a past player for the club.
During the summer of that year, the Frenchman became a member of Al Ittihad, which was a part of the movement of prominent European players to the Saudi Pro League.
Benzema, who is now 37 years old, has scored 16 goals in 22 league games this season. He has a contract with Al Ittihad that continues until the summer of next year, which indicates that his future in European football looks to be done.
In the meanwhile, Modric is still a member of Real Madrid’s team despite the fact that he is 39 years old. However, the role that the 2018 Ballon d’Or winner plays has been significantly diminished over the course of the last couple of seasons.
Relevo reports that the Croatian midfielder has expressed his desire to continue playing for Real Madrid until he reaches the age of 40. Additionally, he has expressed his desire to continue with his rolling 12-month contract, which is a method that Real employs in order to extend the tenure of any of its players who are over the age of 30.
