Zinedine Zidane has made a remarkable return as Real Madrid manager, only 10 months after leaving the club.

The Frenchman replaces Santiago Solari as first-team coach after the team were eliminated from the Champions League by Ajax last week.

The team is in third place in the league, 12 points behind the leaders Barcelona, and were recently eliminated by the Catalans in the Spanish Cup.

A club statement said:

“The Board of Directors of Real Madrid, met today, Monday, March 11, 2019, and has decided to terminate Santiago Solari’s contract as coach of the first team but he has been offered to stay at the club.

“Real Madrid appreciate the work done by Santiago Solari and the commitment and loyalty he has always shown to this club. The Board of Directors has also agreed the appointment of Zinedine Zidane as the new coach of Real Madrid for the remainder of the season and the next three, until June 30, 2022.

“The president of Real Madrid will appear today with Zinedine Zidane before the media at 8pm in the press room of the Santiago Bernabéu stadium.”