LONDON - Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is eager to coach again but remains wary of committing to a "crazy challenge" as he plans to resolve his future in the coming weeks.
The 68-year-old left Arsenal after almost 22 years at the helm of the Premier League club at the end of last season and has since been linked to several vacant managerial roles.
"Do I still have the desire to be a coach? Yes. Do I have the desire to throw myself into another crazy challenge? I don't know. It's a job that requires total commitment," Wenger told French television programme Telefoot.
"I must give myself a little distance, which is something I've never done. I'll have to see how much I miss it."
Former Sevilla and Paris St Germain manager Unai Emery was named as Wenger's successor at Arsenal last month.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid want to make a speedy appointment to replace Zinedine Zidane after accepting defeat in their pursuit of Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino.
Real identified Pochettino as their No 1 target following Zidane’s shock departure.
But the Spurs boss has made it clear he will not force his way out, and the European champions are not prepared to enter a long battle with Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy.
Pochettino has no release clause in his contract and buying him out of his recently extended deal - along with his assistants Jesus Perez, Miguel D’Agostino and Toni Jimenez -could cost in excess of £50million.
Real are struggling to formulate a Plan B. They have spoken to former captain Fernando Hierro, Spain’s sporting director, about him assisting a younger first-team coach such as Guti.
They are no longer paying Zidane, who last week terminated his £8million-a-season deal two years early.