In 2001, Zidane joined Real Madrid for a world record fee of 150 billion Italian lire.[39] (about €75 million[40]) and signed a four-year contract. He scored a famous match-winning goal, a volley hit with his weaker foot, in Madrid's 2–1 win over Bayer Leverkusen in the2002 UEFA Champions League Final completing his personal quadruple. The goal has been cited as one of the greatest inChampions League history.[41][42][43]
He dominates the ball, he is a walking spectacle and he plays as if he had silk gloves on each foot. He makes it worthwhile going to the stadium — he's one of the best I have ever seen.
“
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— Alfredo Di Stéfano on Zidane after he was named World Player of the Year in 2003.[11]
The next season, Zidane helped Real Madrid to win the 2002–03 La Ligaand was named the FIFA World Player of the Year for the third time. In 2004, fans voted him as the best European footballer of the previous 50 years in UEFA's fiftieth-anniversary Golden Jubilee Poll.[6]
While Zidane's final season of club football ended without a trophy, he enjoyed success on a personal note by scoring his first hat-trick againstSevilla FC in a 4–2 win in January 2006.[44] He ended the season for Real Madrid as their second highest goalscorer and assists provider behind team-mates Ronaldo and David Beckham respectively, with nine goals and ten assists in 28 games.[45] On 7 May 2006, Zidane, who had announced his plans to retire after the 2006 World Cup,[46] played his farewell match and scored in a 3–3 draw with Villarreal. The squad wore commemorative shirts with ZIDANE 2001–2006 below the club logo. The 80,000 fans inside the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu held up a banner reading: ‘Thanks for the magic’.[21]
In 2012, Zidane featured for Madrid in an All Stars Match against Manchester United which resulted in a 3–2 win for Real. In April 2013, he was named by Marca as a member of the "Best foreign eleven in Real Madrid's history".
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