Zinedine Zidane said on Monday he had stepped down as Real Madrid coach as the club’s hierarchy did not have enough faith in him to rebuild an ageing squad.

Zidane, who returned to Real for a second spell in charge in March 2019, won two La Liga titles and three Champions League crowns during his two stints as coach.

However, he stepped down last week after Real suffered their first trophy-less season in 11 years, finishing second in La Liga, being knocked out of the Champions League semi-finals and suffering a humiliating Copa del Rey exit in the round of 32 to third division minnows Alcoyano.

In an open letter to fans published in sports daily AS, Zidane explained the reasons for his departure saying that his exit this time is different from his stepping aside from the job in 2018.

“I’m going, but I’m not jumping overboard, nor am I tired of coaching. In May 2018 I left because after two and a half years, with so many victories and so many trophies, I felt the team needed a new approach to stay at the very highest level. Right now, things are different. I’m leaving because I feel the club no longer has the faith in me I need, nor the support to build something in the medium or long term.

“I understand football and I know the demands of a club like Real Madrid. I know when you don’t win, you have to leave. But with this a very important thing has been forgotten, everything I built day-to-day has been forgotten, what I brought to my relationships with the players, with the 150 people who work with and around the team.”

Zidane also suggested that his relationship with the club president, Florentino Perez, had changed in recent weeks, and hit out at the series of leaks and stories about his future coming from within Real.

“I want there to be respect for what we have achieved together. I would have liked my relationship with the club and the president over the past few months to have been a little different to that of other coaches. I wasn’t asking for privileges, of course not, just a little more recollection.

“…it hurt me so much when I read in the press, after a defeat, that I would be sacked if I didn’t win the next game.

“Luckily I had these amazing lads who were with me to the death. When things turned ugly they saved me with magnificent victories. Because they believed in me and knew I believed in them.”

Current Paris Saint-Germain coach Mauricio Pochettino is being touted as the frontrunner to take up Zidane’s place at Real.