Zidane returns to the pitch for new Marseille football showcase

December 8, 2025 Oliver Obel

Zinedine Zidane will step back onto a football pitch next week, offering fans an appearance they haven’t seen from him in years. The 53-year-old will join Universe Football, an exhibition event set for December 7 at Marseille’s Orange Velodrome. Organisers have billed it as something “France has never before seen,” according to Universe Football’s promotional material, though they have offered few specifics beyond its hybrid sports-and-entertainment setup.

Since leaving Real Madrid in 2021 after a title race that went down to the final matchday, Zidane has stayed largely outside day-to-day football. His name has continued to circulate regardless European outlets, including SPORTbible, repeatedly linked him with roles ranging from Manchester United to long-term speculation around the France job.

Speaking at the Trento Sports Festival in October, Zidane didn’t hide the fact that he still sees himself back on a bench at some point. “I’d like to be the head coach of the France team one day… I will surely return to coaching,” he said. His Marseille appearance won’t clarify where or when that return happens, but it does put him on a pitch rather than in headlines for the first time in a while.

A different kind of football night

Event organisers say the showcase will borrow ideas from the rapid-fire structure of the Kings League, the seven-a-side competition launched by Gerard Piqué in 2022. According to Universe Football, four matches using a similar pace and format will headline the evening, with Piqué expected to take part.

A range of familiar names are also on the schedule, including Didier Drogba, Dimitri Payet, Robert Pirès and former PSG midfielder Blaise Matuidi. Universe Football’s programme lists several musical acts as well among them Marseille rapper Alonzo and Algerian singer Soolking continuing a recent trend of blending football events with live entertainment.

For anyone who has attended a big match at the Velodrome, the stadium has a way of generating atmosphere even before kickoff. Organisers said they expect the same kind of early buzz for Zidane’s return, especially given the local connection.

Why the velodrome still matters to him

Zidane never played professionally for Marseille, but the venue remains woven into his early football imagination. In an interview with Canal+ Afrique last year, he spoke about watching matches from the Virage Nord as a boy, following teams that featured Enzo Francescoli and Karl-Heinz Förster players he once called “idols.”

“I was a Marseille supporter, I’m still passionate about Marseille,” he said.

His appearance comes more than three decades after the club won the 1993 Champions League a triumph that shaped the environment Zidane grew up admiring, even if he went on to build his career elsewhere.

Charity at the heart of the event

The exhibition has a charitable purpose as well. For every ticket sold, €1 will support Des Coccinelles Rouges pour Thomas, a Marseille-based organisation that helps children living with cancer and rare diseases.

Universe Football says match-worn shirts will be auctioned afterward, with proceeds going directly to the association’s programs.

Where Zidane’s coaching path leads next remains uncertain, but his night at the Velodrome gives him a rare chance to reconnect publicly with the sport and with a city that shaped his earliest football memories.

Read also: A title fight years in the making

Sources: SPORTbible; Universe Football; Canal+ Afrique.