Real Madrid president’s conflict with club legend now a thing of the past – report

July 16 marked a historic day for Real Madrid. After a long-running transfer saga, Kylian Mbappe officially posed as a Madrid player for the first time in front of a packed Santiago Bernabeu stadium.

In addition to Mbappe’s presentation, the event served to bring some other positive news for Los Blancos: the thaw in relations between Zinedine Zidane and Florentino Perez.

Indeed, this proved to be the first time Madrid invited Zidane to an official event since his departure in 2021, when he departed on bitter terms, unsatisfied with the treatment he had received from the Real Madrid hierarchy.

The progressive reconciliation

Now, AS have come out to shed light on the timeline of Zidane’s reconciliation with Real Madrid, detailing the key moments that led to their seemingly renewed rapport.

On May 31, 2021, Zidane announced his departure from Real Madrid via an open letter, citing a lack of support from the club and President Florentino Perez.

Despite the initial animosity, a gradual tilt began to be observed when Perez and Zidane had their first cordial encounter since the letter at the Ballon d’Or gala in 2022.

A year later in March, Real Madrid invited Zidane to the Legends Match against Porto, in which legendary Real Madrid players face the greats of another European team. This gesture signaled the start of their reconciliation.

Finally, Zidane prominently featured alongside Mbappe yesterday, appearing with Florentino Perez, marking what many perceive as the complete normalization of their relationship.

Acknowledging his immense status, Perez gave Zidane a respectful welcome at the ceremony, announcing:

“Today we are joined by one of the great legends of Real Madrid and world football. He has been with us as a player and as a coach.

“He was the Ballon d’Or winner and the author of the volley that gave us the European Cup in Glasgow. And the coach who will go down in history as the one who won three consecutive Champions Leagues. We welcome Zinedine Zidane. I ask you to come up and join us.”

With these recent events, it is safe to say that any resentment that lingered between both parties has potentially been put to bed now.

And in the future, more collaborations could materialize, and perhaps a third managerial reunion.