Zinedine Zidane Offers Candid Opinion on Bellingham’s Move to Real Madrid

• Jude Bellingham recently completed his transfer to Real Madrid
• The English midfielder was handed Zinedine Zidane’s iconic no. five jersey
• Zidane had invited Bellingham to watch Real Madrid’s UCL triumph against Liverpool

Former Real Madrid player and manager, Zinedine Zidane has claimed that the club’s new signing, Jude Bellingham, is ready to play for the La Liga giants.

The England international recently completed a move to the Santiago Bernabeu, becoming Los Blancos’ second-most-expensive signing in history.

Bellingham joined Carlo Ancelotti’s side from Borussia Dortmund for €103 million and will follow in the footsteps of Zidane as he has been handed the no. five shirt.

Zidane, a legend at Real Madrid both as a coach and player, has spoken glowingly about Bellingham’s capture.

"Jude Bellingham is an important player for the future. He is ready to play at Real Madrid," Zidane told Telefoot, via 90Min.

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"I met Bellingham at the 2022 Champions League final, we spoke a little, I hope he has a great career," the Frenchman added.

Zidane himself reportedly invited the Englishman to watch the 2022 Champions League final live from the stands.

The Whites beat Liverpool 1-0, and this result was key to Bellingham's decision to join Real Madrid.

The England international scored 14 goals and provided seven assists in 42 matches across all competitions last season.

Madrid fans will hope Bellingham's Real Madrid career will be at least as successful as Zidane's – or even better.

Zidane speaks on coaching again

Zidane has also said that he hopes to return to management in the near future.

The French footballing icon, who won three consecutive Champions League titles at Real Madrid, has been out of a job since 2021.

He has already snubbed an approach from PSG to replace Christophe Galtier and there have been reports of interest from Saudi Arabia, as claimed by Marca.

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Speaking to French outlet Téléfoot, he said: 'Live and work again in France? Nothing should be ruled out. I know what I want and what I don't want. If I am having this break, it is because there must be one. I hope to tell myself that soon, I am going to be able to coach.'

It was reported back in January that Zidane had turned down approaches from the USA, Brazil, and Portugal to manage their national teams.

Zidane rejects PSG

Sports Brief earlier reported Zidane turned down the chance to replace Christophe Galtier in the PSG dugout.

Whilst Galtier’s departure hasn’t yet been officially confirmed by PSG, it has been widely reported that the former OGC Nice manager, who only arrived at the club in the summer, has already been informed by Sporting Advisor Luís Campos that he is no longer Les Parisiens’ manager.