Launched into a coaching career, Zinedine Zidane (52 years old) was, before all that, a fabulous football player. Having played for Bordeaux, Juventus and Real Madrid, the former number 10 shone on the pitch. But his career could have taken another trajectory as Barry Silkman, a former player converted into an agent, explained this Wednesday. Indeed, in the columns of Sunhe revealed he came close to signing Zizou for Newcastle in 1996.
“I was alerted to the talent of a 24-year-old attacking midfielder in Bordeaux and I went to see him. His name was Zinedine Zidane, and it took me about five minutes to decide that this guy was going to be someone very special. I had brought a number of good players to Newcastle United during Kevin Keegan's reign and every one of them was a success, so Zidane seemed like the ideal candidate for a Keegan team. It was January 7, 1996 and I told Kevin he could sign Zidane for £1.2million, it was a bargain. I begged Kevin to sign him but in the end he told me his head scout thought he wasn't good enough and years later Kevin told me he should have listen to me rather than his recruiter. Zidane eventually signed for Juventus and the rest is history. More than 20 years later, Kevin told me that I was the best agent he had ever met, the only good one in his opinion. Beautiful words from a high-ranking man with whom I have always gotten along very well over the years. I wish I had kept the fax sent to me from Newcastle United, in which the chief scout said: “Silky has grossly overestimated the player. At best he is good enough for Wolves, who are currently bottom of the league “. I think Zidane was slightly better than the players on the struggling Wolves team! » The Magpies can bite their fingers…
