Julian Nagelsmann has revealed that he did not feel comfortable in accepting an offer from Real Madrid in 2018.
The young German has long been regarded as one of European football's top coaches after establishing Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga, while he is now leading RB Leipzig's title charge further up the standings.
However, the 32-year-old has acknowledged that he had the opportunity to move to the Bernabeu after Zinedine Zidane's surprise resignation, only to reject the advances of the then Champions League winners.
Speaking to The Independent, Nagelsmann said: "It's normal if Real Madrid call you, you think about it. 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 and 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.
"The other thing is language is very important to me. I like to communicate, I'm very expressive with my players. I can't speak Spanish yet, I can only say, 'hola, que tal.' So it was the biggest step, but not the right step."
Zidane has since returned to Los Blancos, helping the club to the top of the La Liga table.
Darren Plant
