Rafael Nadal described Zinedine Zidane as the “perfect example” of how to act in the public eye after the Frenchman’s shock resignation from Real Madrid.
Zidane announced on Thursday that he is to leave his role as head coach at the Santiago Bernabeu, just five days on from guiding his side to a third straight Champions League title with a 3-1 win over Liverpool in Kiev.
“Of course, it was a surprise for everybody, no? But at the same time, Zidane is a top person. He’s a person that it is tough to accept that he’s leaving for different things, different reasons,” he told a news conference after beating Guido Pella 6-2 6-1 6-1 in the French Open second round.
“First thing because he’s a great coach and he was having a lot of success with our team. Second thing, he’s a good person, normal person, humble person.
“He represents, in my opinion, the right values, and he’s a perfect example of how somebody with a lot of success has to do the things of every day with being normal, being humble without saying negative things about the players, about the club, about nobody.