Real Madrid have fired head coach Rafael Benítez.

It was his very first season with the Spanish club, but it quickly came to an end on Monday. According to ESPN, Zinedine Zidane will take over as the full-time manager for the foreseeable future.

Real Madrid is a disappointing third place team in La Liga behind their rivals, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid. In their last game they drew a 2-2 tie against Valencia. The game that is stuck in everyone's minds was back in Week 12. Real Madrid fell to Barcelona 4-0 at home. It was one of the most embarrassing defeats in franchise history. Rumors have been swirling that Colombian middle fielder James Rodriguez does not get along with Benitez, but that won't be an issue any longer.

It's hard to imagine a manager in third place getting fired, but the expectations are extremely high in Madrid as they are 32 time league champions. Although Benitez's formations and tactics were criticized at times, there are some Madrid fans who feel that upper management has take some of the blame as well.

Real Madrid will play Deportivo in their next La Liga game on Jan. 9.