Zinedine Zidane and Mario Gotze spend festive period in the UAE

The former Real Madrid manager and Borussia Dortmund forward have been enjoying a warm weather Christmas break

Zinedine Zidane poses with the trophy after winning the UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid at the Olympic Stadium in Kiev, Ukraine in May. AFP

Zinedine Zidane has been repeatedly linked with the Manchester United managerial job - both before and after Jose Mourinho left.

But as the speculation around the former Real Madrid manager intensified, he chose the UAE as his destination for a festive getaway.

Zidane, who won three consecutive Uefa Champions League titles with Real, posted an image with his family outside Louvre Abu Dhabi after "an amazing visit".

The 46-year-old Frenchman then followed that up with another family shot, this time with the Burj Al Arab in Dubai in the background.

He has been nominated for the Best Coach Award at the Dubai Globe Soccer Awards which take place on the final day of the Dubai International Sports Conference at Madinat Jumeirah from January 2-3.

Other nominess include Diego Simeone of Atletico Madrid, Jurgen Klopp of Liverpool, Juventus' Massimiliano Allegri and France's World Cup-winning manager Didier Deschamps.

Meanwhile, Mario Gotze, scorer of the winning goal for Germany in the 2014 World Cup final, has also been in Dubai this week.

The Borussia Dortmund forward tweeted from the Nike store at Dubai Mall on Christmas Day.

He then followed it up with a good morning message "from Dubai".

And today he was posting from Barry's Bootcamp where he said he had "a great workout".

The German Bundesliga is currently on its winter break. Dortmund, who are six points clear of second-placed Bayern Munich at the top, are back in action on January 19 when they travel to RB Leipzig.

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