Express. Home of the Daily and Sunday Express.
Real Madrid news: Laudrup responds to sensational manager claim as Lopetegui faces sack
REAL MADRID have NOT been approached by former star Michael Laudrup about taking over from Julen Lopetegui.
Reports in Spain this week claimed former Real sensation Laudrup was keen on the manager job at the Bernabeu.
Laudrup, who also played for Barcelona and Juventus during his playing career, is one of three men supposedly in the running for the Real job if Lopetegui is axed.
Real have suffered a run of miserable form of late and are winless in four games.
Lopetegui’s job is not thought to be under threat yet but Real are ruthless when it comes to axing managers if results aren’t going their way.
I would never do that to a colleague
Yet Laudrup insists he is not interested in the Bernabeu post.
"I have not offered myself to any team, I never did that," he told Danish news agency, Ritzau.
"I would never do that to a colleague."
Laudrup turned to management in 2002 and spent two years at Swansea before leaving the club in 2014.
His last post was at Qatari side Al-Rayyan, a club he left earlier this year.
Asked what the future holds, the 54-year-old said: "I will tell you myself if I decide to manage again.”
As for Real, Spanish site Ok Diario claim Antonio Conte and Laurent Blanc are on president Florentino Perez’s radar to replace Lopetegui.
Indeed, Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport even claim Perez called Conte on Monday to ascertain whether or not the ex-Chelsea boss would be interested in a deal.
Real Madrid: 'Worrying time' for Lopetegui says Burley
Perez has supposedly given Lopetegui three games to save his job.
Real Madrid play Levante in La Liga on Saturday before a home clash against Plzen in the Champions League - two games Lopetegui will be expected to win comfortably.