Zinedine Zidane has stepped down as Real Madrid boss, five days after leading them to a third straight Champions League triumph.

Zidane told a news conference that "everything changes" and "that's why I took this decision".

He leaves having guided the Spanish club to three successive Champions League titles and one La Liga success since taking over in January 2016.

"I love this club," he added.

"What I think is that this team needs to continue winning but I think it needs a change, a different voice, another methodology. And that's why I took this decision."

Zidane, 45, took over after Rafael Benitez was sacked and was in charge for 149 games. He steered Real to 104 wins and 29 draws, and had 69.8% win rate.

He said in February that he would walk away if he felt "there is nothing more to give".

However, the timing of his announcement still came as a shock just days after Real beat Liverpool 3-1 in the Champions League final.

Gareth Bale, who scored twice in Real's 3-1 win over Liverpool in Saturday' Champions League final, and Cristiano Ronaldo have also both cast doubts on their future at the Bernabeu since lifting the trophy.

Agencies