Zinedine Zidane lashes out at media & demands respect for Real Madrid success

It's a pretty bad time to be Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane, who's back under pressure after a string of poor results.

Los Blancos crashed out both the Super Cup and the Copa del Rey, while a 2-1 loss to Levante left Real ten points behind La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid (who also have a game in hand), and it's prompted reports that Zidane is almost certainly going to be sacked at the end of the season.

The Spanish press haven't exactly pulled any punches when discussing Zidane's future, and it seems as though the Real boss has grown tired of it all.

"Are you serious? Everyday I'm out, and you know it," Zidane said (via ESPN) when asked whether he was being too defensive of both the team and himself. "Last year we won the league.

"We did. Real Madrid... Next year they'll have to do things, make changes maybe. But this year we have the right to fight. Let us fight.

"We won the league last year, not ten years ago. Show a bit of respect for that. You [journalists] say a lot of things. But you have to take responsibility. Tell me to my face: I want you to go. We want you to go. But you have to say it, not behind my back.

"I'm responsible for this squad. If things don't work, you have to look at who's responsible. Next year, for sure something will have to be done. But this year this squad deserves to keep going."

Zidane recently had to spend two weeks in self-isolation after testing positive for COVID-19, and the boss confessed that his time locked away from the world did not do his mindset any favours.

"One day I'm out, the next day I'm in, the next day we draw or lose and I'm out," he continued. "Every time we play a bad game I get asked about it. I don't deserve that treatment.

"I'm a bit angry, I've been locked in a cage for two weeks and looking forward to getting out and showing that I'll fight until the end."

Nothing like a bit of fighting spirit Zizou, eh?

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