His second tenure was fraught with tension, which came to a head in an unusually fiery press conference in February when he demanded more respect for his team.
The one marquee signing the club made in Zidane's second spell was Eden Hazard, who has been unable to shine due to a hapless run with injuries.
Real Madrid play away at Athletic Bilbao on Sunday, knowing anything but a victory at San Mames will mean Atletico Madrid win the title if they beat Osasuna at the Wanda Metropolitano.
But VAR prompted referee Juan Martinez to check an Eder Militao handball a few seconds before, with a huge decision seeing Madrid's penalty cancelled and a spot-kick awarded to Sevilla instead.
The Frenchman, who has won three Champions League trophies and two La Liga titles in two spells as Real coach, could find his future under threat should Real end the season trophyless.
"Let's just finish this season. What I will say is that I'll make things easy for the club, always, because they've always given me everything," Zidane told a news conference on Saturday.
He can also finally count on a fully fit Eden Hazard, who was in lively form in Saturday's 2-0 win over Osasuna and is in line to start at the ground which he called home for seven years before switching from Chelsea to Real in 2019.
Real Madrid defender Eder Militao had begun to look like an expensive flop midway through his second season but has suddenly turned into the club's most reliable defender.
The Brazilian, a 50-million-euro signing from Porto in 2019, had only made three league starts by the end of March.
After missing the last nine games in all competitions through injury, Ramos returned to full training on Friday and is available for selection for Saturday's La Liga meeting with Osasuna.
"He's training with us and that means he's able to play too," Zidane told a news conference.
Real president Florentino Perez was named as chairman of the project and appears to have been the driving force behind the league, which ended in embarrassment as most clubs withdrew.
"It's absurd to think that we won't be in the Champions League next season," he told a news conference ahead of Tuesday's semi-final, first leg at home to Chelsea.
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin had said that the clubs who wished to breakaway would "suffer the consequences" but later said it was unlikely Real could be expelled from this season's Champions League.
"It's illogical (that Real could be expelled). We're going to play in the Champions League as that's our right," Zidane told a news conference ahead of his side's La Liga game against Real Betis on Saturday.
"I'm here for the game. Everyone has their opinion but I'm not here to talk about that. I'll talk about the game tomorrow, the league, the Champions League - the rest isn't my job.
"You can say I'm sitting on the fence, and that's fine. Because what I like doing is coach, that's it."
The Barca captain's contract expires this summer and his futures is up in the air having been linked with a move away ever since his attempts to leave the club last summer were unsuccessful.
"I hope it's not (Messi's last Clasico), I want him to stay at Barcelona, it's good for the Spanish league," Zidane told a news conference.
They were missing key players in Eden Hazard, Raphael Varane and Sergio Ramos for the quarter-final first leg but dominated the midfield thanks to their long-running trio of Casemiro, Luka Modric and Toni Kroos, the foundation of their three consecutive Champions League triumphs.
Watching Real beat the Premier League champions so comfortably, it was easy to forget what a chaotic season it has been.
Mohamed Salah's away goal early in the second half, and Liverpool's comeback from a more desperate situation against Barcelona in 2019, should serve as warnings against complacency.
"Hazard needs to stay calm and be patient, the most important thing is that he is completely recovered and I don't think we'll hurry his return," Zidane told a news conference on Monday.
"If the player is in good shape then I'll want to play him but right now we're going to take things slowly and see what happens."
Central defender Ramos picked up a calf injury while doing warm-down exercises with Spain after their 3-1 victory over Kosovo on Wednesday. He came on as an 86th-minute substitute in the World Cup qualifier.
The 35-year-old looks set to be absent for both legs of the upcoming Champions League quarter-final meeting with Liverpool, as well as next Saturday's Clasico against Barcelona.
There may have been a message in his answer about his current role too, how he has "the physique to play freely" and can still "play where the ball goes".
The Belgian international joined Real in a 150 million euro ($178.83 million) deal in 2019 but has been blighted by injuries, making 25 La Liga appearances since signing.
"He won't be fit. They're things that I can't explain. I want to be positive and hope that it's not too much of a problem," Zidane told a news conference.