Zinedine Zidane earlier stated in a conversation with Thomas Gravesen, his former Real Madrid player, the “only three roles” he would accept.

The 51-year-old, who left Real Madrid for the second time in 2021 and hasn’t had a job since, is still being connected to a lot of club and international positions.

Though ‘flattered’ by the interest in him during the search for Djamel Belmadi’s replacement, he recently declined the chance to lead Algeria’s national team.

It was also revealed this week by the French magazine Foot Mercato that INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who owns Manchester United, “dreams” of Zidane taking Erik ten Hag’s place.

Zidane’s longtime admirer and INEOS Sport CEO Jean-Claude Blanc even made an attempt to sign the Frenchman when he was at Paris Saint-Germain.

What will become of him then? Former Los Blancos teammate Thomas Gravesen has provided an intriguing glimpse into Zidane’s mindset as speculation about his future persists.

During a recent interview with Discovery+, Gravesen recounted a conversation they had two years prior.

The former Denmark international remembered, “I spoke to Zidane in Madrid two years ago and he told me that there are only three roles that he would like to accept.”

“And they are the French team, Madrid, and Marseille. He specifically said something to me while we were in Madrid two years ago. I also asked him if he would consider coaching once again. Additionally, he informed me that these three were not possible.

Gravesen also brought up the connections about the Manchester United job that were previously revealed.

“I would say that he was prepared from the start, and the team he had in Madrid was fantastic,” he continued.

“In the United the situation is different, it is very difficult to do something with the team that Ten Hag has at the moment.”

At a movie screening last month, Zidane discussed his future. When asked if he intended to resume coaching, Zidane said, “Why not? Anything is possible.

“But at the moment I’m doing something else. I am sure that I will return to the bench, I would like to coach again.”