Zinedine Zidane "has a huge stake" in Real Madrid's latest La Liga title triumph, according to ex-goalkeeper Bodo Illgner.
Madrid were crowned champions of Spain for the 34th time in their history on Thursday night after extending their winning run since the resumption of the season to ten matches.
Zidane's men beat Villarreal 2-1 at Santiago Bernabeu thanks to a Karim Benzema double, while second-placed Barcelona suffered a surprise defeat to Osasuna at Camp Nou.
The Blancos now hold an unassailable seven-point lead at the summit with only one round of fixtures remaining, with supporters now free to celebrate the club's first domestic crown since 2017.
Zidane has enjoyed unprecedented success in the Champions League as Madrid's head coach, but had only picked up the Liga trophy once prior to the club's latest success during a dominant period for arch-rivals Barca.
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The likes of Benzema, Sergio Ramos and Luka Modric have all played a key role in the Blancos' run to glory this time around, but Illgner says Zidane deserves most of the credit for maximising the output of an ageing squad.
The former Madrid shot-stopper told Goal and SPOX: "Zidane, of course, has a huge stake in the title. A lot of people thought that the squad had become a bit too old and, above all, too big, including me, but he got the team going again and motivated them, which is why Lopetegui and Solari failed before and after him. I take my hat off to that."
"After the big gap to Barca in the past years, winning the championship is very important. For the club and the fans, but also for Zidane himself, because he had announced the title as his main goal before the season."
Illgner, who won La Liga and two European Cups at Madrid between 1996 and 2001, went on to insist that the Blancos' impressive recent form makes them worthy champions ahead of Barca, who have been held back by off-field issues throughout the campaign.
He added: "Real and Barca have had many ups and downs during the season and were not consistent, but Real definitely deserved the title because they were the strongest team after the corona break, and of course, they also benefited from the fact that they had much more tranquillity off the pitch than Barcelona."
