Zinedine Zidane admitted he had received various offers to return to football since leaving Real Madrid last summer, but said the offer to ‘come home’ was too good to turn down.
The 46-year-old also vowed to do things better – in the league at least – than he did before.
Speaking in his first press conference since signing a new deal that will keep him at the club until 2022 he said: ‘When I went it was the right time to leave. I have had various offers since then but I wanted to stay here in Madrid. My first reaction when the president called me was to come back. Here I am.’
Asked about why he left last summer he stuck to the same reasoning he used when he walked away nine months ago saying: ‘I left the club because I thought the squad needed a change after winning everything.
‘I’m back because the president called me. I am happy to be back but it’s a big responsibility because a lot of people love this club.
‘We won the Champions League last season but we lost the league early and the cup too and I was at the controls when those things happened.
‘I know what I did wrong last season and I’m going to do my best to make sure the team does better this time.
‘We have to change things but right now we have time to talk and plan. We have 11 games left. Things are going badly in the league but I was the coach last season and it was the same (in the league).’
Privately Zidane was unhappy about plans to sell Cristiano Ronaldo last summer.
Asked about the Juventus striker he said: ‘Everyone knows what Cristiano is. He is one of the greatest and part of the history of this club but we have 11 games left to focus on.’
Asked if he felt returning was a risk he tapped his chest and said: ‘I’m not thinking about that. My heart says that I have rested and the president calls me and I wanted to come and that’s it. The desire I have is what has brought me here.’- SportMail
