Former Real Madrid legend Luis Figo believes former teammate Zinedine Zidane has a goal of becoming Los Blancos manager someday, and has cautioned current boss Rafa Benitez not to count on the patience of Madrid fans.
Benitez has struggled out of the gate since being named Madrid coach in the wake of Carlo Ancelotti's sacking this summer.
According to the respected Cadena Ser radio show "El Larguero," Blancos president Florentino Perez feels that Benitez has completely lost the dressing room and is considering making a move, for which former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has been linked to the job.
Figo said Zidane would be another candidate who'd be interested in the job.
"I think so, it's one of his goals," Figo told Omnisport. "So if you want to be a coach and he's now coaching the second team ... I think in his head it's the objective and the goal to one day to coach the first team.
"So I don't know. It's always depending on the opportunities -- if they give you the responsibility or not."
On Benitez's predicament, Figo added: "Madrid is a club where you don't have time. You always have to win.
"So it depends on the people who take the decision if they're going to give him more time or not."
Figo, who played at Barcelona before making a controversial move to Real in 2000, played with Pep Guardiola at the Camp Nou.
Now one of the hottest properties in coaching, Guardiola, who has been tipped for a move to the Premier League, would continue being an elite manager wherever he winds up, the former Portuguese international said.
"Pep has his philosophy of football and I think he dies with that philosophy and he tries to implement that philosophy in the clubs that he's coached," he explained.
"I think when you arrive at that level of coach there's not so many options in the projects of the top clubs. So I think we can count with your fingers the clubs that he's going to have the option to coach. I don't think it's too difficult to guess where he's going to go."