Zinedine Zidane was asked on Monday night what his first thought was when the president of Real Madrid, Florentino Pérez called him four days ago. “To go back,” he said. “And here I am.” Just 284 days after he walked out, Zidane returned to the Santiago Bernabéu, ready to take over once more and insisting that he was “happy” and “looking forward to it”. He had not even taken any convincing, he claimed. No one truly believed that but the man who won three consecutive Champions Leagues will be forgiven everything, and all the more so after he agreed to come back now, at their time of need.

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His presence changes everything except the reality of what lies ahead this season, the campaign in effect over in early March, but even that felt less like something to endure as he stood there. There was little in the way of real answers, no real explanation as to why he walked away in the first place or what had changed to make him come back now. Nor was there any real glimpse of the new plan or hints to the changes that lay ahead, although they will be many. But that did not seem to matter much either. “That’s not the issue now,” Zidane said.

Three home defeats in seven days saw Madrid knocked out of the Copa del Rey and the Champions League and to all intents ended their chances of winning La Liga, leaving them trailing Barcelona by 12 points. Zidane was contacted immediately and, while an agreement was not reached at once, the Frenchman said all that had been needed was that “the president called”, that Madrid persisted. He insisted that he had never had any doubts and at one point patted at his heart. “I really love this club,” he said.

Santiago Solari knew he was on borrowed time, a victory at the weekend against Valladolid not sufficient to keep him in a job. He was sacked on Monday afternoon, although Pérez said he would continue at the club in some capacity, having been in charge for only 119 days. Before him Julen Lopetegui had lasted 138. Before him had been Zidane, back now having signed a contract for the rest of this season and three more, until 2022. He arrives at a moment Pérez described as “adverse and difficult”, where there was “pain.”

The risk of their crisis deepening helps to explain the haste with which they made this announcement but that failure strengthens Zidane’s hand, having an impact on the attitude of the players and the club. He was swift to remind people that, during his own spell at the club, Madrid had encountered difficulties that played their part in his decision to leave, yet he also suggested once again that part of Madrid’s problem had been that they had become satiated by success.

Madrid wasted no time in presenting him at the Bernabéu, where Zidane talked about preparing for those 11 games first, about training again, which he will begin on Wednesday, and working with the players. He was less forthcoming about what will happen after that, and refused to be drawn on what promises had been made, but did admit there would be decisions made in the summer ready for next season.

“Look, we’ll change things,” Zidane said. “We have to change things for next year but now it’s not about that. What matters is that I am back and we have time to talk about what we have to do. But today that’s not the issue. There are 11 games left and what we want is to finish well. I’m here because the president called me. I’m here, because I love this club.”

Asked what had changed, what promises had been made and what guarantees he had been given, Zidane said: “Nothing.”

He continued: “I went because I needed it for me and the squad needed a change after winning it all. We had to change at that moment, in my opinion. Now, why did I make the decision to come back? Because the president called me and because I love the club and this club, here I am. The team needed a change at that time. After having won everything, not only with me but for five six, seven years, the squad needed a change. There’s nothing more than that.

“Now it’s different. Nine months passed and then [I got] the call from the club. The most important thing is that after nine months I have the desire to train again. But after last year, I took that decision for everyone’s good. We had to make a change, and that’s that. I recharged my batteries and now I’m looking forward to it.

“I don’t forget what we won but I also don’t forget the bad things we did. We lost the league straight away, we lost the cup. We won the [Champions League], OK, but we know where we are. Life is like that. My ambition for this club, the excitement I have to manage this club, no one will take that from me. I will do all I can for the club. For now, we just have to focus on what’s left of the season and then see what we can do for the next [few] years: that’s the most important thing.”