By Abba Gwale
Real Madrid’s manager, Zinedine Zidane, has reportedly lost faith in a number of first-team players amid increased speculation regarding his Bernabeu future.
The La Liga champions recently suffered their second defeat to Shakhtar Donetsk in a row on Tuesday evening – a result which leaves Real Madrid third in Champions League Group B ahead of their final game with current leaders Borussia Monchengladbach next week.
Zidane’s men have also made an underwhelming start to their title defence in the Spanish top flight, leading to rumours that the former Galactico’s days at the helm could be numbered.
According to reports from Spanish tabloids, Zidane is close to losing the dressing room at Real Madrid, and a number of players do not inspire confidence within the Blancos manager.
Indeed, the report claims that Zidane is slowly losing faith in Rodrygo, Vinicius Junior, Eden Hazard and Martin Odegaard, and the Real boss is also unhappy with the attitudes of experienced duo Toni Kroos and Marcelo.
Zidane supposedly wanted to oversee a major overhaul of his squad in the summer, but given the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic and the renovations taking place at the Bernabeu, Real’s priority was to sell rather than buy.
Former Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino is regarded as one of the favourites to take the hotseat should Zidane leave, but the Frenchman has affirmed that he will not step down from his post despite increasing pressure from Real supporters.
