He played for four European clubs, and won the 2002 UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid. One of only two three-time FIFA World Player of the Year winners (Ronaldo being the other), he was also named European Footballer of the Year in 1998.

In 2004, fans voted him atop UEFA's fiftieth-anniversary Golden Jubilee Poll, and he was included in Pelé's FIFA 100. Zidane retired from professional football after the 2006 FIFA World Cup.