Willy Sagnol is now favourite to become manager of Bordeaux next season after the Ligue 1 club confirmed that Zinedine Zidane would not be taking charge of Les Girondins. #INSERT type:image caption:Willy Sagnol hasled France's under-21 side to the top of their EURO 2015 qualifying group.END#
Currently preparing for Saturday's Champions League final in his capacity as assistant coach to Carlo Ancelotti at Real Madrid, Zidane, 41, has made no secret of his ambition to take sole charge of a club.
With Francis Gillot leaving the Stade Chaban-Delmas this summer, Zidane had been tipped as a potential successor.
However, Bordeaux president Jean-Louis Triaud, 64, told RTL the Zidane family's life in the Spanish capital was a stumbling block that could not be overcome in appointing the former France captain.
"I am not going to deny that we have had contact, on several occasions," he said. "Unfortunately, not everything came together for us to be able to recruit Zidane. So today, I can confirm he won't be Bordeaux coach," Triaud explained.
"There is one problem with Zinedine Zidane: it's his attachment to Real Madrid. You cannot ignore the fact that two of his children are at Real Madrid's youth academy, that his family is very settled in Madrid where they have lived for nearly 11 years. There you go, it's a complicated context."
Triaud denied reports the deal had fallen through due to Zidane's demands for guarantees regarding investment in the squad.
"No, it's the whole thing, all the conditions were not fulfilled, that's all," he continued. "When it doesn't happen, it's because it's not meant to happen. You have to turn the page and move on to something else."
That now appears likely to be Sagnol, 37, who has guided France's under-21 side to the top of their EURO 2015 qualifying group in impressive fashion in his first senior coaching role.
The former Bayern Munich defender will leave with his young squad for a tour of Reunion Island on Friday, returning on June 3 when Bordeaux will attempt to make progress towards securing his appointment.
"He is one of the French sportsmen with the biggest list of honours and has extraordinary experience," Triaud told media at his end-of-season news conference. "Sagnol is young, energetic, certainly a man of great quality."
Previously appointed director of national teams up to Under-21 level, Sagnol took charge of Les Bleuets just under a year ago.
Though he has made an excellent start, winning all of his first six qualifying matches, Sagnol will not be held back should he choose to take a job at club level.
"Willy told me that he has been approached," French Football Federation president Noel Le Graet, 72, told RTL. "I told him that I would like him to stay, but that if he preferred to take on a role at a club, I would not stand in the way of his progress."