Ramon Calderon stepped down from the Real Madrid presidency earlier this month, leaving a void in the chairman's seat. Speculation is rife that former president Florentino Perez is well on his way back to the Bernabeu.
According to AS , the Spanish businessman will use Zinedine Zidane as a bargaining chip for the electoral campaign in June in what could very well mark one of the most sensational returns to football in history.
The catch is that Perez wants to hire Zidane as a youth-team coach. The Frenchman has already stated his desire to become the Castilla manager earlier last year. Zidane is still living in Madrid and his children play for the Real Madrid Infitil B.
It is also believed that Perez could offer him the job as the Sporting Director, which would mark the end of Predrag Mijatovic. Mijatovic is very unpopular among Real Madrid fans and they would, no doubt, love to see the back of him and welcome their beloved Zizou.
Perez and Zidane maintain a very powerful relationship; they are in regular contact with one another. The last time they met was at a resort in Morocco during the famous Zidane vs Ronaldo showdown.
At that time, Zidane joked with Perez, and told him: "If you return, I'll come back too." This is now looking more and more likely, and Zidane would be reluctant on passing on an opportunity that he has been wishing for since 2007.
But, if Perez is to win re-election, than he must prove to the Madrid faithful that his eccentric Los Galacticos dream is well and truly history; that he will no longer interfere with any coaching or sporting decisions; and that players will bechosenbased on talent, andnot the potential to sign shirts.
Feras Saad, Goal.com
