When Real Madrid announced a press conference would take place just hours after Zinedine Zidane was due to sit down with club president Florentino Perez, social media went into overdrive and just a few hours later, it was confirmed, the man who guided Los Blancos to three Champions League titles in a row would be vacating the hot seat.
When Frank Lampard and Marco Silva were making headlines in England for joining new clubs Derby County and Everton respectively, Zidane was making headlines for the opposite.
As expected, much like landing a Bitcoin Bitzstars bonus, the rumour mill and bookmakers have been quick to react with a number of names linked to the vacant managers’ post with a few surprise names thrown in.
But who are they? And are they a realistic target for arguably the most sought-after seat in European club management?
Arsene Wenger
Frenchman Arsene Wenger has only just left his post at Arsenal after 22 years at the helm but has automatically been instilled as the favourite take over at the Bernabeu.
Wenger certainly has the CV to impress boasting a French Ligue 1 title, three English Premier League trophies and seven FA Cups and would require no compensation but question marks remain over his record in Europe which is a must for the Real hierarchy.
Despite a poor domestic season, Los Blancos remain kings on the European stage and whoever takes over will be expected to continue at the current level of pace.
Wenger has stated that he has turned Real Madrid down in the past to stay loyal to the Gunners but now may be his last chance to make a viable attempt at winning a European trophy which is a major blot on his CV.
Mauricio Pochettino
Look away Spurs fans because your manager is heavily linked with the Madrid post and can be found as short as 6/4 to move to Spain.
The 46-year-old has done a superb job during his tenure in England taking Southampton to the next level before turning Tottenham into genuine title challengers and regular Champions League contenders.
He also has previous La Liga experience as manager of Espanyol but one doubt surrounding Poch is his ability to bring home a trophy.
Whether that will count against him remains to be seen but Spurs could be in for a nervy summer.
Antonio Conte
Another Premier name linked with the Real hotseat is current Chelsea manager Antonio Conte.
After guiding Chelsea to the EPL title last season, this campaign has highlighted a number of weaknesses in the Blues camp with Conte appearing to be at the heart of them.
It is unlikely Real bosses would put up with the drama after going through a carnival with Jose Mourinho but stranger things in football have happened.
Mikel Arteta
Former Arsenal and Everton midfielder must be doing something right as he seems to get linked with every high-profile job on the go.
However, at 28/1, it appears that the Real Madrid job would be a major step too soon and there is little chance that the Bernabeu bosses would take a punt on a complete rookie.
I read somewhere that Florentino Perez knows who the will steer the Madrid ship next season. He is yet to disclosed the identity of that person, I would like to see Mauricio Pochettino there