Enzo Zidane has reportedly called time on his professional career aged 29 having been without a club since 2023.
The son of footballing legend Zinedine came up through the ranks at Real Madrid, where he played under the 1998 World Cup winner.
Former Real Madrid midfielder Enzo has announced his retirement at the age of 29Getty – Contributor
His only appearance for Los Blancos‘ senior side came in the Copa del Rey during the 2016/17 season, where he scored on his debut.
His outing in the 6-1 win over Cultural Leonesa was also the same game in which Martin Odegaard made his debut for the club.
And their careers have taken on hugely different paths, with Odegaard going on to captain Arsenal where he is now one of Europe’s top playmakers.
Whereas Enzo has failed to reach the heights expected of him, with the midfielder subsequently becoming a journeyman across Europe.
Enzo bounced around clubs, where he competed in Spain’s top three divisions, while also playing in Switzerland and Portugal’s top level, as well as Ligue 2 in France.
The 2022/23 season saw him at Spanish third-tier outfit Fuenlabrada, where he made 29 appearances in all competitions.
His final game came on May 2023, with news outlet AS stating that after over a year out of the game, Enzo has now decided to hang up his boots.
It has been said the decision has been made out of his ‘boredom’ at not being able to find a new club.
The report goes onto state that attention for the former Alaves man will now focus on his family and three daughters with wife Karen.
In an interview with Marca in 2018, Enzo opened up on the burden of being the son of one of football’s greatest ever players.
Enzo featured just once for Real’s first team – a Spanish Cup clash under the tutelage of his father ZinedineGetty
He said: “I’ve had it since I was little, and it’s always going to be that way. It’s not going to change, but I try to remove myself from it and focus on being the best possible Enzo.
“People compare you, criticise you, want more from you, and say you are there because you are somebody’s son.
“Others will be criticised for other things, but I try not to think about it.
“The most important thing is that my family are proud of me. I just think about growing up as Enzo and nothing else.
“I was 22 years old (at Madrid), after going through the academy and learning from the first team, my goal was to try other things and grow as a footballer,’ he continued.
“Madrid are the best team in the world and it is very difficult to find a space there, but the life of a player is like that.
“I wanted to leave to experience good moments elsewhere and have the same dream.”
Enzo still has three younger brothers playing football – Luca, Theo and Elyaz – who are on the books at Granada, Cordoba and Real Betis respectively.
