Former agent Barry Silkman has revealed the incredible story of an English club who turned down the chance to sign Zinedine Zidane.
It was January 1996. There were no social media yet, the internet was still in its infancy and the talents of world football were not moving so quickly towards the European giants. At the time, there was a 24-year-old French international playing for Girondins de Bordeaux who was starting to make a name for himself. That name was Zinedine Zidane.
The Marseille native had made his breakthrough the summer before with his performances in the Intertoto Cup, providing five goals and one assist from midfield. He stood out in the French league and shone in the UEFA Cup.
Aware of his talent, agent and former player Barry Silkman traveled to Bordeaux to see the young candidate. He was enchanted: “I went up to him and it took me five minutes to decide that this boy had something very special.”
The intermediary has announced that he had one destination in mind for 'Zizou': Kevin Keegan's Newcastle United. “I brought some good players to Newcastle before Kevin Keegan and they were all a success. Zidane seemed like the perfect candidate for a Keegan team,” he explained.
In January 1996, the Magpies were battling Manchester United for the Premier League title and Zidane could have been a transformative mid-season signing. But the Northeastern club turned him down, Silkman explains. “It was January 7, 1996 and I told Keegan that I could sign Zidane for £1.2 million. It was a bargain. I asked him to sign him, but he told me his head scout didn't think he was good enough.”
Newcastle's refusal to sign Zidane, Silkman added, was not even particularly polite. He explained: “I wish I still had the fax they sent me from Newcastle in which their chief scout said: 'Silky has massively overestimated this player. At best he is good enough for Wolverhampton, who are currently bottom of the second division.”
Newcastle missed their chance and the rest is history. The following summer, Zidane left for Juventus for €3.5 million after finishing second in the UEFA Cup with Bordeaux. In 1998 he announced himself on the world stage with a totemic World Cup performance with France, also winning the Serie A and Italian Super Cup with Juventus. Shortly afterwards, the Frenchman signed for Real Madrid and hit an unforgettable volley in the 2001 Champions League final to win another European crown. He led France to the silver medal at the 2006 World Cup in Germany and retired immediately after the tournament as a bona fide sporting legend.
Despite being forced to watch that stellar career from afar, Silkman has managed to maintain a sense of humor about one of the all-time greats who got away. He revealed: “Years later, Kevin admitted he should have listened to me instead of his scout.”
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