Zinedine Zidane has been appointed as REAL MADRID MANAGER

Real Madrid appoint Zinedine Zidane as head coach after sacking Rafa Benitez

Spaniard sacked just six months in after rows with players and poor results in key matches

• Pete Jenson Madrid 
• 2 minutes  ago

Real Madrid CF president Florentino Perez, right, poses for a picture with Zinedine Zidane, left, as new Real Madrid head coach at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium Getty

Rafa Benitez has been sacked after just six months as Real Madrid manager, with the club appointing Zinedine Zidane as his replacement.

One of Benitez’s old Premier League foes Gary Neville helped seal the Spaniard’s fate when hisValencia side took a point from Real Madrid at the Mestalla on Sunday.

Directors of the Spanish club were in consultation throughout the day and after a board meeting the Real Madrid president, Florentino Perez, confirmed the dismissal. The appointment of Zidane represented a snub for Jose Mourinho, who was understood to be interested in taking the job after he was sacked by Chelsea in December. Perez remains a huge fan of Mourinho, but the president sees Zidane as the man who will unite Real Madrid’s squabbling players and supporters.