Ratcliffe won't ignore the elephant in the room with Zinedine Zidane and Manchester United links

Death, taxes and reports linking Zinedine Zidane with the Manchester United job.

Those are three constants in life and perhaps links suggesting Zidane could take over the reins at Old Trafford will only go away when he announces he's not returning to management.

From Zidane's perspective, there is no need to make such an announcement, which means reports linking him with the United job might even rumble on into the year 2056.

The Frenchman has been repeatedly linked with United since he departed Real Madrid in the summer of 2021, but there has been no indication he will coach again.

READ MORE: Garnacho apologises for liking tweets criticising his substitution

READ MORE: Some United players' futures are now more certain

Zidane became the first coach to win the Champions League three times in a row during his time managing Los Blancos and his reputation has remained untouched.

There's no doubt Zidane's name carries weight and he's a character befitting of a United manager, however, he's been out of the game for years and that's without mentioning his time in charge of Real Madrid, which saw him deliver unprecedented success, was essentially 'babysitting'.

From Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale, Luka Modric and Toni Kroos, it's obvious Zidane had world-class players at his disposal and his remit was to manage egos.

How much tactical acumen Zidane possesses as a manager is debatable - he was a magical player - and it would objectively be a risk to appoint him as United manager.

In his second stint as Madrid boss, Zidane went trophyless in his final season and the Spanish giants are still the only club he's ever managed since hanging up his boots.

He was touted to replace Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in 2021, but