Reshuffling begins at Europe’s elites

Zinedine Zidane's decision to leave Real Madrid yesterday night signaled the start of European giants beginning to regroup after dismal showings in a season that was already tainted for them by the European Super League debacle.

Around the time that Zidane's departure was confirmed by Real Madrid -- who lost the La Liga title to city rivals Atletico Madrid this season -- news of upheaval in Italy caught the eye.

Antonio Conte, who engineered Inter Milan's path to their first Serie A title of the decade this season, left the Nerazzuri by mutual consent, upset at planned cutbacks. Italian giants Juventus were also hoping for a return to normalcy after conceding the Serie A title to Conte following nine straight triumphs, with reports that they were set to sack Andrea Pirlo and re-appoint Massimiliano Allegri.

There was similar dissatisfaction in France, where Mauricio Pochettino was reportedly flirting with a chance to fill the managerial vacancy at his old club, Tottenham Hotspur. His stint in France has been marred by Paris Saint-Germain's surrender of the Ligue 1 title to Lille, the first time they have lost the title since 2016-17, to the Monaco side that boasted Kylian Mbappe.

Conte's sudden departure has seen him become one of the contenders to take over at the Santiago Bernabeu as he has had plenty of talks with the club before, but there is also a preference that club legend Raul take charge, with the alluring narrative of another Galactico coming back and perhaps thriving.

Zidane's exit was less preposterous as there have been reports for weeks that Zidane was considering his future and a story in AS, a Madrid-based newspaper, that he had told his players after the 2-2 draw with Sevilla on May 9 that he would be leaving.

Allegri, meanwhile, has been out of work since leaving Juventus in 2019. During his time at the club he won five consecutive Serie A titles, as well as leading the team to two Champions League finals.

Pirlo's time at Juventus has not been an unmitigated disaster, with Juventus scooping the Italian Super Cup earlier in the campaign and this month picking up the Coppa Italia. But Juventus struggled in Serie A, finishing fourth and only securing Champions League football on the final day of the season.

Juventus were also underwhelming in European competition. They managed to beat Barcelona 3-0 in Spain to top Champions League Group G, only to lose on away goals to Porto in the Round of 16.

Following an unprecedented year with shocking results, Europe's elite – seemingly having momentarily abandoned plans for the Super League -- will turn back focus to reclaiming their dominance.