Zinedine Zidane considered quitting football during the early days of his Santiago Bernabeu career, according to Real Madrid president Florentino Perez.

Zidane joined Real in a £45 million deal from Juventus over three years ago, but he struggled in his opening matches for his new club and even contemplated giving up the game.

“When Zidane came there was a debate inside Real Madrid,” Perez told L’Equipe.

“Do we have to play with or without Zidane?’ The unrest was bigger than today.

“With Zidane in La Liga, Real lost almost every match. Without him in the Champions League, we won.

“Later, Zidane even admitted he thought about stopping his career.

“Suddenly, in December his magic, his art, his class, made everyone quiet. To me, there is no doubt every player needs time to adapt.”