Real Madrid parted ways with Rafa Benitez on Monday, sacking the former Liverpool, Chelsea and Napoli gaffer after an indifferent spell in charge.
Los Blancos, via ESPN FC, confirmed the decision. The club also confirmed that Zinedine Zidane will take over for Benitez as manager, viaESPN FC.
"I am here to say that the board has just decided, difficult decision, especially for me, to end contract of Rafa as first-team coach," Real Madrid president Florentino Perez told reporters.
"Firstly I would like to thank the club and the president for giving me the chance to coach this team," Zidane said at the press conference. "We have the best club in the world and the best fans in the world."
Hired last summer as a replacement for Carlo Ancelotti, Benitez departs the Bernabeu with Real one point off the top of La Liga and ejected from the Copa del Rey.
Not only did Benitez's results not meet the high standards expected at the club, but the team's style of play under the Spaniard was widely disliked.
The 4-0 defeat to hated enemy Barcelona in November's El Clasico was undoubtedly a low point for Benitez, but his problems in the Spanish capital cannot be attributed to just one game.
The fact is that Los Blancos rarely looked comfortable applying his tactics on the pitch. A club with a fine tradition of expansive, attacking football and a plethora of forward-thinking stars was always a strange match for such a pragmatic manager.
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