ZINEDINE ZIDANE has made a £4MILLION investment into a new sport project.
The Real Madrid legend has been out of work since leaving the club as manager in 2021.
Zinedine Zidane has invested in a padel centre in France[/caption]
Zidane, 52, has often been tipped with a return to management, with the likes of Manchester United and France suggested as options.
But after winning three Champions League and two LaLiga titles he seems no closer to coming back to the dugout.
The Frenchman is still busy away from the pitch and, according to Padel Paper, is taking a dive into a new sport.
The outlet claims that Zidane has made a huge £4m investment into a new padel centre in France.
The centre will feature 13 padel courts as well as two five-a-side football pitches and a beach volleyball court.
Construction is expected to get started in early 2026.
It will be built in the Aix-en-Provence with a second base also opening 50km west in Istres.
Toulouges will be the fourth centre that Zidane has built.
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He has also got a hosting centre in Turin thanks to his ties to Juventus from his playing days.
Racket sport padel originated in Mexico and has become hugely popular in recent years.
Zidane won three Champions League titles[/caption]
Cristiano Ronaldo has enjoyed playing padel[/caption]
Cristiano Ronaldo has bought a racket centre in Lisbon after gaining interest.
Swedish legend Zlatan Ibrahimovic has also opened the doors to a centre in his homeland.
Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has admitted he is “addicted” to the sport.
He told Wilson: “Padel is, besides football, the best game I’ve ever played.
“I’ve only known it in the last five years or so, but since then, I’m really addicted to it.
“You make big steps in a short period of time. It’s really fun to play.”
Jurgen Klopp has called it the ‘best game’[/caption]
Zinedine Zidane’s managerial career
Zinedine Zidane began his career in management in June 2014 when he was appointed coach of Real Madrid’s B team.
Zizou spent 18 months in charge of Real Madrid Castilla before being given his shot at the big time following the sacking of Rafael Benitez.
Zidane, 51, took charge of the first team in January 2016 and guided them to a second-place finish in his maiden season at the Bernabeu helm.
But he went one better in the Champions League, sealing Real’s 11th European Cup triumph with a shootout victory over Atletico Madrid.
The former Los Blancos star went one better in the league in the 2016-17 season, in which they also won the Uefa Super Cup and Club World Cup.
A second successive Champions League triumph also followed, with Real beating Italian giants Juventus at the Principality Stadium.
He would create history the following season by becoming the first manager to win the tournament three times on the bounce.
A 3-1 win over Liverpool saw Real become the first team to win Europe’s elite club competition three times in a row.
Zidane announced his resignation five days after the final, insisting the club needed a “change” of direction.
He would return to the Bernabeu in March 2019 following Santiago Solari and Julen Lopetegui’s short reigns.
A return to the summit of Spanish football would follow in the 2019-20 season, in which Real also scooped the Spanish Super Cup.
Zidane would leave the Bernabeu again in June 2021 after overseeing Real’s first trophyless season in 11 years.
Zinedine Zidane’s Honours:
– La Liga: 2016–17, 2019–20
– Supercopa de España: 2017, 2019–20
– UEFA Champions League: 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18
– UEFA Super Cup: 2016, 2017
– FIFA Club World Cup: 2016, 2017
