PARIS (AFP) - France legend Zinedine Zidane will not be appointed coach of Bordeaux next season, the Ligue 1 club's president Jean-Louis Triaud confirmed on Wednesday, ending speculation about a return to his former club.
"No, Zidane will not be the future coach of Bordeaux," Triaud told French radio station RTL.
"I'm not going to deny that we have kept in touch regularly. Unfortunately that hasn't allowed us to be able to recruit Zidane.
"There is certainly a concern for Zinedine Zidane, it's his attachment to Real Madrid. You can't ignore the fact his two children are part of the club's academy or that his family is very settled in Madrid having lived there for over 11 years, it's a complicated situation," added the Bordeaux president.
Zidane, who turns 42 next month, is currently serving as an assistant coach to Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti.
Zidane played for Bordeaux from 1992 to 1996, but with the 1998 Ballon d'Or winner now out of the picture, widespread media reports in France suggested that former France international Willy Sagnol was the favourite to be handed the Bordeaux job.
At present Sagnol, who played alongside Zidane when France lost the 2006 World Cup final to Italy on penalties, is in charge of the France Under-21 team.