Madrid Fire Benitez; Hire Zidane As Successor

Real Madrid have fired coach Rafa Benítez after on Monday afternoon after a board meeting which was called to assess the Spaniard's performance at the club.

The club's president, Florentino Pérez broke the news to the coach and, Zinedine Zidane has been tipped to take the position from B-team Castilla. An official announcement confirming these changes is expected imminently.

The 'Los Blancos' board opted to call time on Benítez's reign at an emergency meeting held at the Bernabéu. The main reasons behind the decision were the poor recent results and the tactician's fractious relationship with a number of the squad heavyweights. Marca