How Real Madrid could lose Zinedine Zidane’s ideal successor

Real Madrid may have to prepare for life without Zinedine Zidane again. Although the manager has done a fantastic job of guiding Los Blancos since returning to the dugout at the end of the 2018-2019 season, he’s understandably getting a little worn down by the difficulties of managing the team right now.

Not only is coaching Real Madrid the hardest job in sports with all the pressure and expectations, but it’s become even harder in the pandemic era due to all the injuries and even the regulations that must be followed.

So there’s a real chance Zidane could walk away from Los Blancos at the end of the 2020-2021 season with one year left on his contract. There’s still hope he will stay, and Real certainly won’t push him out the door if he still want to manage the team. He’s done wonders. But they will have to respect his decision if he decides he’s had enough of the mental wear and tear.

There are a couple of replacement options for Zidane. One of them was recently taken off the table when Bayern Munich agreed to hire Julian Nagelsmann after Hansi Flick’s decision to step down at the end of the season.

Eintracht Frankfurt reportedly have interest in Real Madrid Castilla manager Raul

And another ideal option could be taken by a different Bundesliga club.

According to a report from Goal.com’s Kerry Hau, Real Madrid Castilla manager Raul is a possible option to replace Adi Hutter as Eintracht Frankfurt’s manager. Hutter recently agreed to join Borussia Monchengladbach at the end of the season, after Gladbach’s own great manager Marco Rose agreed to move to rivals Borussia Dortmund in 2021-2022 earlier this season.

Eintracht reportedly won’t negotiate with Raul until the season is over, because the manager could get Castilla up to the second tier of Spanish football.

It’s no surprise that a Europa League-level side in Germany, which is competing for a Champions League spot this season, has interest in Raul. Not only is he doing a great job with Real Madrid’s talented youth side, but he also has experience making it into the Champions League in Germany as a player. Raul was a great striker for Schalke at the end of his career after being a legend for Los Merengues.

If Raul were to take the Eintracht job, which sounds appealing, then that could lead to problems for Real. Because the would have to replace him at Castilla and then look for an alternative to Zidane if the midfield Galactico decided to step down as the senior team’s manager. In that case, Max Allegri would likely move to the top of the list. Though it’s interesting to note that both Allegri and Zidane are rumored candidates for the Juventus job.

Let’s see if there are any more updates on Raul’s status, but the interest from Germany’s Eagles may put more pressure on Zidane to come to a decision soon so that Raul can make an informed choice between Real Madrid and Eintracht Frankfurt. It looks like Luka Jovic, Omar Mascarell, and Jesus Vallejo won’t be the only notable names who could make a switch between Spain’s capital and Germany’s “financial” capital!