Blackburn Rovers must regret turning down Zinedine Zidane - the reason why may surprise you | OneFootball

Rovers had the chance to sign the former Juventus, Real Madrid and France star, but turned him down

Blackburn Rovers turned down Zinedine Zidane.

Yes, believe it or not, the two parties in that sentence were the right way around.

Back in 1995, the Lancashire club were on the hunt for players following their Premier League title win of 1994/95, and Zidane popped up on their list of potentials.

But, in what now sounds like something from a fever dream, decision-makers at Ewood Park couldn’t understand what the Frenchman offered that Tim Sherwood didn’t.

Blackburn Rovers almost had Zinedine Zidane on their books

Some context is required when it comes to Zidane's links with Blackburn.

While it’s fair to question the quality of scouting work going on at Blackburn at the time – given they let one of the greatest midfielders of all time slip through their fingers – this was not yet the World Cup and Champions League-winning, Real Madrid version of Zidane we all know today.

Then in his early 20s, Zidane was with French outfit Bordeaux when Blackburn spotted him, as they scoured the European market.

And it’s easy to see how he caught their attention, having posted six goals and six assists in the French top tier the previous season.

Blackburn decided they wanted a closer look.

Blackburn Rovers preferred Tim Sherwood over Zinedine Zidane

This wasn’t a simple case of Zidane being on a list of potential targets along with 50 other European midfielders – serious approaches were being made.

It went so far that Zidane and former Bordeaux team-mate Christophe Dugarry actually visited Blackburn’s training ground.

Manager at the time Kenny Dalglish was, understandably, interested in Zidane.

Then came the now infamous question he was apparently posed by club owner Jack Walker: “Why do you want to sign Zidane when we have Tim Sherwood?”

Sherwood was certainly no slouch – he had bagged six goals himself on the way to Blackburn’s title win the previous season – but few players compare to the one-in-a-lifetime talent that is Zidane, and that’s something recognised just as keenly by Sherwood.

Speaking in an interview with the Independent back in 2014, he revealed he still loved revelling in the glory of the tale with his French players, having been manager of Tottenham Hotspur when the interview was given.

Blackburn Rovers will always wonder what might have been with Zidane conundrum

Zidane played the next season for Bordeaux, his last for the club, before moving to Juventus.

The rest, as they say, is history.

He went on to make over 200 appearances for both Juventus and Real Madrid, plus over 100 caps for France.

Along the way came a World Cup, Champions League, two Serie A titles and a La Liga Crown. Oh, and a Ballon d’Or in 1998 for good measure, just in case Blackburn had any doubts about the mistake they made three years earlier.

He’s been just as successful as a manager too, returning to Los Blancos and leading the Spanish side to three more Champions League titles.

Few could have foreseen quite how much of an icon Zidane would go on to be when he was stood in Lancashire watching Rovers train – but that won’t stop people wondering what might have been if the club had just taken a gamble on him.