Fabrizio Romano has claimed that Massimiliano Allegri could be in the running to become Real Madrid's next manager.

What did Romano say about Allegri?

The Italian journalist was speaking on The Here We Go Podcast, and admitted that Zinedine Zidane's future in the Spanish capital remains unclear for now, with the former World Cup winner set to decide whether he will stay at Real at the end of the season.

While confirming that Real are happy to continue with Zidane for now, Romano also stated that the club are putting together a contingency plan in case Zidane decides to leave this summer. 

Romano said: "Real Madrid are preparing with other managers. They have a shortlist with three names, and I can guarantee that one of the three names for Real Madrid is Massimiliano Allegri - former Juventus manager, AC Milan manager also in the past.

"He did amazing work in Italy, winning the scudetto a lot of times. He’s always been a great manager – twice in the Champions League final with Juventus, one time against Barcelona and the other one against Real Madrid.

"So, he’s an international coach with a lot of opportunities in the last years, also with English clubs, but he was waiting for something interesting for his future, and now Real Madrid could be an opportunity. As I said, it’s not a done deal or something like this, but he is one of the names on the list of Real Madrid."

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How long has Allegri been out of management?

Allegri has indeed been away from the dugout for some time. Having led the Bianconeri to their eighth consecutive title - their fifth during his time at the club - Allegri opted to walk away from Juventus in May 2019.

Two years on, he is still yet to return to the touchline, although that could be set to change if he receives an enticing offer this summer.

The 53-year-old was listed as a potential candidate to become Tottenham's next manager at the start of the month. He was named alongside Rafael Benitez and Ralf Rangnick, suggesting that if Daniel Levy opts for experience, Allegri could be in line to be offered the job.

However, he may now want to bide his time and wait to see if Zidane does choose to step down as Real Madrid manager in the coming weeks. It seems likely that Allegri would view taking over at Real as a better career move given that they are regularly challenging for major honours.

This could mean that Spurs are left in the lurch once more, having already lost out to a European giant last month when Julian Nagelsmann ended speculation linking him with coming to north London by agreeing to become Bayern Munich's next manager.

Any other factors that could prevent Allegri becoming Spurs' next boss?

It is understood that Tottenham would like their next manager to speak perfect English. Allegri has only ever managed in his homeland, indicating that this could be a problem.

Still, he revealed last year that he is learning English, and he may now have a firm grasp of the language which could keep him in contention to take over at Tottenham.

From his point of view, though, he may not be happy to work with a limited budget, which is what Spurs' next manager is expected to have.

Allegri previously spent freely when he was at Juventus, signing Cristiano Ronaldo for £105.3m and Gonzalo Higuain for £81m. If he does not receive the funds that he wants, he may decide that Tottenham cannot match his ambitions, and look elsewhere for his next job.