A chastising 5-1 defeat by bitter rivals Barcelona proved too much for the notoriously trigger-happy Florentino Perez to take, with Lopetegui relieved of his duties ahead of the Copa del Rey clash with Melilla on Wednesday.
Lopetegui, who was named as Real manager days before he was preparing to lead Spain into this summer's World Cup, won just four of his 10 league games in charge.
Their last league win was a 1-0 win over Espanyol on September 22 and has been followed by four defeats and a draw.
Candidates to replace Julen Lopetegui at Real Madrid
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Santiago Solari has been placed in temporary charge of the team – but who is likely to replace Lopetegui on a full time basis. Antonio Conte? Mauricio Pochettino? Somebody else?
Here, we take a look at the options as well as the very latest odds.
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