Zidane: I could never have been Mourinho's assistant

The 41-year-old says his relationship with the Portuguese wasn't strong enough for him to work alongside him

Real Madrid assistant coach Zinedine Zidane has revealed that he could never have been Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho's right-hand man.

Zidane enjoyed a difficult relationship with Mourinho during his time as Madrid's sporting director and he has now stressed that he would never be able to work under the Portuguese coach.

"With [Carlo] Ancelotti, it’s all happened quite naturally. I spoke with him by phone a few days before he joined and we sorted everything out. That was a good moment for me, for him and for the club," Zidane told Canal+.

"I wouldn’t have been able to take on that role with a coach I didn’t know. I could never have been Mourinho’s assistant for example.

"And besides, he already had an assistant. It wouldn’t have been right to take on the job of being his right-hand man."

Mourinho left Madrid in the summer of 2013 after an unsuccessful 2012-13 campaign in which he fell out with key players such as Iker Casillas and Sergio Ramos.