Zinedine Zidane will coach Real Madrid's B side Castilla next season

Zidane, a World Cup winner with France and a Champions League-winning galactico with Madrid, had been expected to make a move into management after graduating with a diploma in sports management from Limoges University last January and spending the 2013-14 season as an assistant to Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti.

The 42-year-old had been linked with the manager's position at Ligue 1 club Bordeaux over recent months, but speculation that he was set to remain at the Bernabeu and coach the B side -- which was relegated to the Segunda B last season -- had begun to increase.

That move was confirmed in a club statement on Wednesday, which said: "Zinedine Zidane will manage Castilla next season. Zizou will start a new stage of his career... he will be joined by youth coach Santiago Sanchez and has already started working on future plans for the reserve team squad."

Last season was disastrous for Castilla, with former youth stars such as Jese Rodriguez and Alvaro Morata graduating to the senior squad and their replacements failing to impress.

Highly-rated young coach Alberto Toril was sacked in November after a reported row with the club's hierarchy, and although replacement Jose Manuel Diaz at first oversaw an upturn in results he was unable to prevent relegation. Zidane will have some promising youngsters such as midfielder Jose Rodriguez, 19, and defenders Derik, 21, and Diego Llorente, 21, to work with.

His season will include less than glamorous games against local minnows such as Toledo and Fuenlabrada, along with derbies against Atletico Madrid B and Getafe B.