‘There are definitely worse things to read!’: Julian Nagelsmann admits he is flattered by his connections with Real Madrid as pressure builds on Zinedine Zidane after the shocking Copa del Rey defeat for Alcoyano minnows
- Julian Nagelsmann admitted he is flattered to be linked to Real Madrid
- Nagelsmann was also related to the acquisition of Zinedine Zidane in 2018
- Zidane criticized for being eliminated from the Spanish Cup by a third division team
RB Leipzig coach Julian Nagelsmann admitted that he was “flattered” to be linked to a transfer to Real Madrid, but played down speculation that he might be the next player on the Bernabeu’s bench.
Nagelsmann is on the favorites list to replace Zinedine Zidane, who is under pressure this season after some bad results.
Zidane was attacked after a third division team – with just ten men – expelled his Real Madrid team from Copa Del Rey in the round of 16.
Julian Nagelsmann admitted that he is “flattered” for being linked to a transfer to Real Madrid
Zidane also faced criticism after Real Madrid won a game in their last five games in all competitions.
This is not the first time that Nagelsmann has been associated with a transfer to the LaLiga giants – having gained his interest in 2018 after an impressive season at Hoffenheim.
Speaking about the most recent connections to Real Madrid, Nagelsmann told Sky Sport Germany: ‘There are definitely worse things to read.
‘But I also know that the things that are written in the newspapers are not always true.’
Nagelsmann was also related to the acquisition of Zinedine Zidane in 2018
Zidane was attacked by Alcoyano, from the third level, who eliminated them from the Copa Del Rey
This is the second time that the Leipzig coach has been linked to an acquisition of Real Madrid.
Nagelsmann declined the opportunity to join Real Madrid in 2018, suggesting that a move to the Bernabeu would not have been the ‘right step’ to take in his career at the time.
The Leipzig coach, however, said he would be open to talking to the club in the future, should they need a new coach.
‘We received phone calls, but in the end it was me,’ he told Marca. ‘I thought it was not the right step to go to Real Madrid.
‘I was one of the candidates and the list was not very long. That was important to me. I had a good conversation with José Angel Sanchez and we decided that it was not the right step at the time.
“We agreed that we could talk again in the future if Real Madrid needed a coach – and I was available.”
Nagelsmann is a highly sought after businessman, coming on the scene with Hoffenheim
RB Leipzig is currently second in the Bundesliga, four points behind Bayern Munich
Nagelsmann is a highly sought after coach – having established his credentials at Hoffenheim and Leipzig.
Nagelsmann became the youngest coach in Bundesliga history when he took charge of Hoffenheim in 2016 at the age of 28.
He even secured qualification for the Champions League for the first time in the club’s history.
After such success, the German was appointed coach of RB Leipzig in June 2019 and took the club to third place in his first season at the helm.
