Signing Zinedine Zidane, the legend of Real Madrid and Juventus, was a goal for Barcelona in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Zidane played at Juventus for 5 years, from 1996 to 2001, before moving to Real Madrid for another 5 years until 2006.
But Zidane remained one of the most skilled French players in history, a target on several occasions for Real Madrid’s eternal rival, Barcelona.
The late Johan Cruyff, the former Barcelona coach, had previously admitted that Zidane almost signed a contract to represent Barcelona in 1996, before moving to Juve, but the dismissal of the Dutch coach and his departure from the Camp Nou stopped the deal.
Cruyff, who is considered the owner of the idea of comprehensive play, coached the Spanish team Barcelona between 1988 and 1996, and succeeded in forming a strong team known as the dream team of the Catalan city.
Cruyff said years ago: “During my work at Barcelona I agreed on new deals with the players in January or February, and I was leading the negotiations myself.”
Cruyff is the first player to win the Ballon d’Or 3 times, surpassing the record at the time in the name of Real Madrid legend Alfredo Di Stefano, who won it twice in 1957 and 1959. With Zidane, I explained to him that our agreement was void, and he thanked me, and that was the end of the story.”
In the same summer, more than a quarter of a century ago, Zizou moved from Bordeaux to the Bianconeri, with whom he won two league titles and qualified twice for the Champions League final and won 3 other titles.
In 2001, Zidane moved to Real Madrid and won with him a League title, the same for the European Champions League, two Spanish Super titles, a European Super title and the Intercontinental Cup.
Zidane won the World Cup and European Nations Cup with France in 1998 and 2000 respectively, and won the World Player of the Year award 3 times, including once as a Real Madrid player in 2003 and the Golden Ball once in 1998.