Times are tough right now for Real Madrid and new boss Julen Lopetegui.

Los Blancos endured an eventful summer which saw Zinedine Zidane announce his departure, Cristiano Ronaldo join Juventus and Lopetegui unexpectedly ushered in.

The club announced the deal while Lopetegui was still manager of Spain, with La Roja deciding to sack him as a result on the eve of the World Cup.

But things started well under the new boss, with Real winning their first three La Liga games in convincing fashion - they even beat Roma 3-0 in the Champions League.

However, to say it's gone downhill since would be an understatement, with Real managing just two victories since that win over Roma.

They're winless in their last four in La Liga, lost 1-0 away at CSKA and just scraped past Viktoria Plzen 2-1 on Tuesday evening.

As such, Lopetegui's job is hanging by a thread.

To make matters worse, Spanish publication AS posted an article detailing the five managers that rejected Real Madrid before they turned to Lopetegui.

That's right, the Spaniard was their sixth choice.

Tottenham's Mauricio Pochettino was their first choice, but Florentino Perez was wary about tarnishing his positive relationship with Daniel Levy.

Juventus' Max Allegri rejected Los Blancos because he wants to lift the Champions League with the Bianconeri before he considers leaving.

Real even approached Liverpool's Jurgen Klopp, but the German didn't entertain the notion due to the control he has over his project with the Reds.

Antonio Conte said no to the job despite leaving Chelsea in the summer, but the Italian is now the firm favourite if Lopetegui does get the boot.

The final manager that rejected Los Blancos before they turned to Lopetegui was Hoffenheim's 31-year-old boss Julian Nagelsmann.

The German is sure to get a huge job in the next few years but clearly, he didn't want fancy the tricky task of Real Madrid so early in his career.