Sports

Champions League final: Real Madrid may sack Zidane – Paul Merson

Published

6 years ago

May 26, 2018

Arsenal legend, Paul Merson has stated that Real Madrid will sack their manager, Zinedine Zidane if Liverpool beat the LaLiga giants on Saturday night in the Champions League final at the NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium.

Merson believes failure for Zidane to win the Champions League trophy tonight in Kiev would be the end of the road for the Frenchman at the Santiago Bernabeu, despite guiding the Los Blancos to back-to-back Champions League wins in his first two seasons in charge.

“Jurgen Klopp could get Zinedine Zidane the sack tonight because he is the better manager,” Merson told the Daily Star.

“I know Zidane has won two Champions League titles in a row but he has had world class players to work with.

“You should be judged on what you do in your domestic league when you’re a manager and Real Madrid are so far behind Barcelona now it’s ridiculous.

“Barcelona are not even that good – but Real have only won the league once since Zidane took over and this season they only finished a very distant third.

“He’s been getting out of jail by winning the Champions League. But competitions like that are a bonus. The league is your bread and butter.

“You can’t judge a manager in a knockout competition because you need a bit of luck and a good draw to win them.

“Zidane could win three in a row and that would be an amazing achievement. But if he loses the final I would be shocked if he keeps his job because they are miles behind Barcelona.”