Danone wants Zidane on board
Afp, Paris
French football star Zinedine Zidane could one day be scoring from the boardroom of French food industry giant Danone, company chief executive Franck Riboud has suggested in an interview with the Financial Times newspaper.Zidane has a promotion contract with Danone. Riboud recounted that four years ago he asked the footballer what he would do when he retired, and his answer was "nothing". Riboud explained that "I told him nothing was not a job", and that he tried to provoke Zidane into thinking about the matter by half-seriously asking him if he wanted to be a non-executive director. Riboud, citing the example of French ski-ing star Jean-Claude Killy who became a director of Coca-Cola drinks and Rolex watches, told the newspaper: "It could be a reality -- why not?". Riboud, who knows Zidane well, said he was not concerned about a head-butt committed by the player in the final of the World Cup. Zidane, who earns substantial sums from promotional contracts with industry, was sent off in disgrace but seems to have been forgiven by the public. He has an 11-year contract with Danone to promote campaigns aimed at children.
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