His phone has been ringing off the hook for months! Real Madrid are reportedly considering signing a top-class manager

Didier Deschamps will leave his post as France coach after this summer’s World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The departure, long expected, was confirmed by the former midfielder in early 2025.

Shortly afterwards, he clarified that he was stepping down as national team manager only, not ending his coaching career. “I am closing a long and wonderful chapter, but I am not retiring. The next chapter will be different and very good.” Yet he ruled out moving to another federation: “Never say never, but I cannot imagine coaching another country. I cannot imagine sitting on the bench for a different national anthem.”

Deschamps began his coaching career in 2001 at AS Monaco and, in 2004, guided the Principality club to a surprise Champions League final. In 2006 he took charge at Juventus, steering the club—which he had once captained as a player—back to Serie A after the Calciopoli scandal. After a spell at Olympique Marseille between 2009 and 2012, he took the reins of Les Bleus. His crowning achievement came with the 2018 World Cup triumph in Russia, followed three years later by victory in the Nations League.

A potential move to Real Madrid could prompt a belated role reversal, since former Blancos boss Zinedine Zidane is widely expected to succeed Deschamps at the FFF.

Real are currently managed by reserve-team coach Álvaro Arbeloa, who replaced the sacked Xabi Alonso at the start of the year; the club has yet to clarify how long the former full-back’s spell in charge will last. With the risk of a trophy-less campaign growing, president Florentino Pérez may still seek a more established leader for his star-studded squad.

Jürgen Klopp, formerly of Liverpool, was long considered the front-runner, but he has categorically ruled himself out. Mauricio Pochettino, who coaches the United States, and Milan’s Massimiliano Allegri are also in the frame.

Should Real Madrid’s interest in Didier Deschamps materialise, the record-breaking Champions League winner would face stiff competition for the job. According to RMC Sport, Deschamps and his agents’ phones have been “ringing off the hook for months”.

Last year Saudi Arabia tried to lure him with huge sums, but that option appears to have been rejected. Another return to Juventus is also being mooted.