Zinedine Zidane on Jose Mourinho, Real Madrid Rumours: 'It Does' Bother Me

Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane has said speculation linking Jose Mourinho with his position is a concern ahead of Tuesday's UEFA Champions League showdown with Galatasaray.

Zidane finds himself under pressure ahead of the contest, as Madrid have endured a challenging beginning to the campaign. On Saturday, they suffered a shock loss to newly promoted Real Mallorca and were knocked off the top of the La Liga table by Barcelona.

With just one point from their first two Champions League games, rumours have started to surface about Zidane's position, with Mourinho's name in the frame. Speaking about the links, the current Los Blancos boss said he is a little worried by the reports, per James Willoughby of Goal:

"In football, people forget what you've done in the past. The important thing is the present...I'm not going to say it doesn't bother me what is being said about other coaches, because it does.

"But what I have to do as a coach is to give everything, get the players to do the same, to give everything – and that's all I can do. It's a great game to play in, a great stadium, Champions League...we know what the situation is and we're going to try and win."

Zidane was also asked if he expects to be out of a job should his team suffer a defeat at the Turk Telekom Stadium. "I don't know," was his response. "You can't ask me that. All I can do is try and be here as long as I can. I want to be here forever."

Here are the highlights from Saturday's loss to Mallorca, when an injury-ravaged Madrid side turned in an awful display:

While Zidane will be hoping to call on a couple more players for the trip to Galatasaray, AS commented on the type of challenge that awaits Madrid in what promises to be a fiery atmosphere:

It was in the Champions League where Zidane enjoyed the majority of his success in his first spell in charge of the club. The former midfielder steered the team to a historic trio of consecutive successes, with the team showcasing quality, composure and spirit in clutch moments in the tournament. They're crying out for some of those qualities currently.

With speculation starting to gather pace about Mourinho, it feels like Zidane needs a win to alleviate some scrutiny.

Earlier this season, Spanish football journalist Guillem Balague said Mourinho hasn't taken another job this term as he's hopeful of taking over at the Santiago Bernabeu:

The Portuguese was in charge of the capital club between 2010 and 2013. During his time at the helm, he won one La Liga title and one Copa del Rey, helping Real Madrid back to the summit of Spanish football following a spell of dominance from Pep Guardiola's Barcelona side.

Most recently, Mourinho was sacked by Manchester United in December 2018, having steered the team to their worst-ever start to a Premier League season. Although his reputation sagged after that difficult job, if reports are to be believed, he still has admirers at the Bernabeu.