Zinedine Zidane explains why he left Real Madrid in open letter

Zinedine Zidane says he left Real Madrid because they no longer had faith in him and his rebuilding project

Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane says he resigned because the club "no longer had faith" in him.

After failing to win a trophy during the 2020-21 season, the Frenchman quit the La Liga club for the second time in his coaching tenure on May 27.

Zidane was Real's manager from 2016 until 2018, then returned ten months later in March 2019.

"I'm going, but I'm not jumping overboard, nor am I tired of coaching," said the 48-year-old.

He continued in an open letter to fans released by Spanish news site AS: "I'm leaving because I feel the club no longer has the faith in me I need, nor the support to build something in the medium or long term.

"I understand football and I know the demands of a club like Real Madrid. I know when you don't win, you have to leave.

"I'm a natural-born winner and I was here to win trophies, but even more important than this are the people, their feelings, life itself and I have the sensation these things have not been taken into account.

"There has been a failure to understand that these things also keep the dynamics of a great club going. To some extent I have even been rebuked for it."

In his first season as manager, the former France playmaker, who played at Real from 2001 to 2006, won three consecutive Champions League trophies and a La Liga title.

During his second term in charge in 2019-20, he won a second La Liga title and had a year left on his contract when he left.

Zidane described his 20 years at the Bernabeu as "the most beautiful thing that has happened" in his life, and he expressed his gratitude to Real president Florentino Perez, saying he will "always be grateful."

"I want there to be respect for what we have achieved together. I would have liked my relationship with the club and the president over the past few months to have been a little different to that of other coaches," Zidane added.

"I wasn't asking for privileges, of course not, just a little more recollection. These days the life of a coach in the dugout at a big club is two seasons, little more.

"For it to last longer the human relationships are essential, they are more important than money, more important than fame, more important than everything. They need to be nurtured."