Zidane to be named France manager by Friday at €5m per year

Zinedine Zidane should be officially named manager of the France national team by the end of the week, according to RMC sources. The announcement is expected Thursday or Friday, with the French Football Federation (FFF) keen to wrap up the matter before July 21.

This deadline is significant: Parliament must adopt a new law on French football governance that day, which would require ministerial validation for such appointments in future. Sports Minister Marina Ferrari is said to have already given her approval. The contract, which will not require FFF Executive Committee sign-off, is ready to be signed.

The planned remuneration is around €5m annually, with a monthly salary between €350,000 and €450,000 depending on bonuses. The FFF and the 1998 Ballon d’Or winner are said to have reached agreement several months ago, with Zidane emerging as the natural favourite to succeed Didier Deschamps since the latter’s departure was announced eighteen months ago.

Deschamps will play his final match in charge of the Blues in the third-place playoff of the World Cup, after fourteen years on the France bench. The defeat to Spain in the semi-final ended hopes of an apotheosis exit.

Zidane is also said to have already assembled his backroom staff, which would comprise no fewer than 25 people, including several women, notably in the data analytics sector.