Zinedine Zidane has broken his silence less than a week after leaving Real Madrid for the second time in three years last week.
The French coach secretly resigned from his position at Santiago Bernabeu on Thursday, days after the club ended the season without a trophy for the first time in over a decade.
The 47-year-old had not said a word since leaving but he has come out to revealed the reason behind his decision to step down in an open letter to fans published in newspaper AS.
“I’m leaving but I’m not abandoning the ship and I’m not tired of coaching,” he wrote.
“In May 2018 I left because after two and a half years of so many victories and trophies I felt the team needed a new plan to stay at the highest level. Today things are different.
“I’m leaving because I feel that the club didn’t give me the support I needed, it didn’t offer me the support the construct a project for the medium or long term.”
Zidane leaves Real for the second time as one of their greatest ever coaches, winning an unprecedented three consecutive Champions Leagues between 2016 and 2018.
The Frenchman restored Real to the greatest heights after a poor spell under Rafael Benitez and they were in even greater disarray after his shock resignation in May 2018, days after his side had beaten Liverpool 3-1 in the Champions League final in Kiev.