Nagelsmann Reveals Turning Down Real Madrid Approach
RB Leipzig manager Julian Nagelsmann has revealed he turned down the chance to manage Real Madrid in the summer of 2018.
Nagelsmann has emerged as one of the brightest young managers in the game since cutting his managerial teeth at TSG Hoffenheim in February 2016.
The 32-year-old led Hoffenheim to their first ever Champions League qualification in 2017 before taking charge of Leipzig at the start of the current campaign.
Nagelsmann has impressed in his short spell at Die Rotten Bullen, leading the club’s title charge that sees them just a point behind perennial champions and leaders Bayern Munich with 13 games remaining.
However, the young German tactician could have been in charge of arguably the biggest club in the world when Real Madrid came calling in the summer of 2018.
Fresh from winning their 13th European crown, Zinedine Zidane resigned as manager of Los Blancos, and Nagelsmann was approached by the Madrid hierarchy to take the hot seat at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Nagelsmann turned down the job as he felt it had come too soon in his fledgling career, and he revealed all the details in an interview with The Independent.
"It's normal if Real Madrid call you, you think about it," Nagelsmann said.
"I was surprised at first, I weighed it up and I didn't feel comfortable with a decision to go there. I want to improve. If you go to Real Madrid, there's no time to improve as a manager.
"You don't have a chance to be a better manager, you already have to be the best. I'm not the best now, but I can admit I want to be one of the best in future. If you go to Real Madrid or Barcelona, the fans, the media and the decision-makers don't give you the time to grow into that.
"They only want to see victories every game, titles, Champions League trophies. If you don't win, you can't say 'but I'm still young, I'm still developing'. It's not that easy in football to plan a career, because it is so unpredictable, but you have to try.
"The main thing is to make the right steps, not the biggest steps. Real Madrid is probably one of the highest steps you can take so I thought, 'You turn 31, go to Real and where to do you go from there?'."
The Madrid job turned out to be a poisoned chalice as both Julien Lopetegui and Santiago Solari failed to maintain the club’s high standards before Zidane answered an SOS call to return for a second spell.
