Newcastle remarkably turned down the opportunity to sign Zinedine Zidane back in 1996, but the Real Madrid legend is now being linked with a move to St James’ Park again – as the club’s new manager.

Newcastle is set to have a vacancy in the managerial hot seat, with Steve Bruce expected to depart following the Magpies’ long-awaited Saudi Arabian takeover.

Zidane is being linked with the job at Newcastle – 25 years after he almost joined them as a player

Steve Bruce will likely be the first casualty at Newcastle, could Zidane replace him?

Zidane’s name is just one of many that Magpies fans are now dreaming of after crown prince Mohammed bin Salman’s £305million purchase from Mike Ashley, but it wouldn’t be the first time the club has flirted with signing the French football icon.

Zidane is undoubtedly one of the game’s greatest ever players, thrilling crowds with his elegant passing and goal-scoring, whilst picking up every trophy on offer with Juventus, Real Madrid, and France.

Zidane won everything on offer during an incredible playing career, and he could have been at Newcastle

Zidane ended up in the black and white of Juventus, but it could have been Newcastle instead

But before he took the world by storm at Juve, Zidane was learning his craft back in his native France for Cannes and Bordeaux.

And while at Bordeaux in 1996, the midfielder was offered to Newcastle for just £1.2million, two years before his Ballon d’Or win in Italy.

Then Newcastle boss Kevin Keegan was offered the player by agent Barry Silkman, but decided against the deal after his scout in France said Zidane had ‘no chance of making it.

And Silkman is still stunned to this day, as he told talkSPORT in July: “I thought I’d kill two birds with one stone and go and watch him play and see what I think.

Zidane was playing for Bordeaux when he was offered to Newcastle

“The day I went to watch him play he actually had the flu and they only brought him on at half-time, but he scored one goal and made two others.

“After ten minutes, I said to Robbie we’ve got to try and bring him back here.

“I went back to Jerome and said ‘I’ve watched the player and I’m going to put him in with Kevin Keegan and if a deal gets done I’ll make sure you are looked after.

“He said ‘that would be fantastic.”

S was utterly convinced by the man who would go on to win the World Cup, European Championship, Champions League, and three league titles, but Keegan wanted a second opinion.

Keegan had some gaffes during his management career, and turning down Zidane might be one of the worst

Keegan took the scouts’ word and refused the deal, with whoever changed his mind surely losing his job two years later as Zidane was handed the Ballon d’Or.

“I spoke with Kevin and said I’ve seen this player out in France and he looks fantastic,” Silkman explained. “His name is Zinedine Zidane. He was 24 and this was in January of 1996.

“Kevin said to me he would get somebody on it and have someone out in France and he knows the players and would get him watched.

“I said ‘Kev, one million percent he will be good enough.

“While I was there, I went to see the president of Bordeaux and he told me they wanted £1.2million, and if they got that they would pay me a small commission out of it.

Zidane won the Ballon d’Or two years after Newcastle could have signed him

“I thought there was probably a deal to be done a £1million, but if I stick to £1.2million then at least I’m safe.

“I told Kevin the price was £1.2million. He sent somebody to watch him and then a couple of days after that he sent me a fax.

“He got his report back from the guy who watched him and said the player has got no chance of making it, at best he could play for Wolves – who were bottom of the First Division.

“I phoned Kevin and said ‘who on earth have you sent to watch this player, it must be f***ing Stevie Wonder or Ray Charles’.

“Kevin laughed and said that was the guy they relied on in France and that’s his report. He said he’s watched the player, knows the player, and doesn’t think he’s good enough to play for Wolves and they are bottom of the First Division.”

Newcastle’s scout thought Zidane had more chance of playing at Molineux than the Bernabeu

A decade after retiring as one of football’s greatest ever players, Zidane was surprisingly named as Real Madrid’s new manager in 2016, replacing Rafael Benitez mid-season.

The icon’s only management experience at that point was with Real Madrid’s south side, and many scoffed at the idea he could replicate what Pep Guardiola did in his first coaching job with Barcelona.

However, an astonishing three Champions League titles followed before Zidane stepped away for a season, returning in 2019 to pick up his second of two LaLiga titles.

The Frenchman left Real for a second time in May 2021 and has since been linked with multiple jobs, including Manchester United and Juventus.

Zidane won an incredible three Champions League titles in his first three seasons at Real Madrid, and he’s now looking for work

Zidane is biding his time while he waits for the right project, and that could well be with Newcastle, with bookmakers giving him 25/1 odds of taking the job.

Incumbent manager Steve Bruce looks set to be the first casualty at St. James Park following the club’s sensational takeover by the Saudi Public Investment Fund.

Former Inter Milan, Chelsea, and Juventus manager Antonio Conte is the current favourite to take the Magpies back towards the top of the table, followed by Roberto Martinez, Steven Gerrard, and Eddie Howe.

Not a single candidate on the shortlist can boast Zidane’s European trophy haul as a manager though, and the currently out-of-work 49-year-old could prove an even bigger bargain for Newcastle than he was in 1996.

Source: TalkSport