The Carlo Ancelotti soap opera is entering a pivotal new stage, as uncertainty remains over whether Real Madrid’s manager will stay on or leave to lead Brazil.
For almost a year, the same question has persisted. Back on December 12, three days after their defeat to Croatia in the World Cup quarter-finals, reports first emerged that Brazil’s football association (the CBF) wanted Ancelotti to succeed Tite, who had announced he would leave his role as national-team coach.
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Despite Ancelotti’s contract at Madrid lasting until June 2024, the rumour and speculation have not stopped since. And in the latest development, sources familiar with the case — who, like all those cited in this article, remain anonymous to protect relationships — have told The Athletic that the CBF has received written indication that Ancelotti would be prepared to join them next year.
Madrid’s manager has recently refused to discuss his plans, and his club is yet to make any concrete offer of an extension — although there are signs one may be on the way. Brazil’s longstanding interest has not changed, and CBF president Ednaldo Rodrigues has spoken several times of his admiration for Ancelotti.
But the whole situation right now throws up more questions than answers. Why would Ancelotti want to leave Madrid? Do they really want to keep him? And why are Brazil seemingly so confident he will come to them?
With January approaching, when Ancelotti will be free to negotiate in the final six months of his Madrid contract, more definitive movement can be expected.
Here’s a look at the situation, which we also explored today on The Athletic Football Podcast.
Since the end of 2022, sources close to Ancelotti have acknowledged that his priority is to stay at Real Madrid. Since March, these same sources have acknowledged that there are only two options for him: Real Madrid and Brazil. That is still the case.
In public, Ancelotti himself has repeatedly said that Madrid are his preferred choice. The most recent occasion came last Saturday when he said: “Will I wait for Real Madrid (to offer a contract extension) until the last day? Of course I will.”
But it is also true he has never entirely distanced himself from links to Brazil. At that same press conference on the weekend, he also spoke of his “pride” that “one of the biggest national teams in the world are talking about me”, before adding: “I have a contract until June 30 and until then, I’m not going to talk about my future.”
Ancelotti is in a strong position at Madrid. Despite numerous and important injuries, his side are joint leaders in La Liga, level on points with Girona, and they have progressed comfortably in the Champions League.
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There has been no formal offer of a renewal, but several sources around the club say that, if things were to continue positively, Madrid would offer him a contract. Ancelotti has been sounded out on this, and he is equally aware that if results dipped, that outlook would quickly change. All parties know that if the season goes badly, the coach could be fired.
Real Madrid generally do not like to make any kind of definite move at this stage of a season. They usually prefer to wait and see how the campaign plays out. Their problem now is that, in this particular scenario, Brazil’s appeal to Ancelotti is very strong, no matter how much they would prefer to downplay its importance.
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Recent reports in Brazil suggested that the CBF believes it even has “legal guarantees” that Ancelotti will become its next coach in 2024. Sources with knowledge of the case confirmed to The Athletic that there is some kind of written agreement between the CBF and the coach to join paths next year, although this was not described as a binding deal.
It would, however, explain the statements made by CBF president Rodrigues when ex-Fluminense boss Fernando Diniz was presented as Brazil coach “for one year” in early July.
Rodrigues added: “He is a coach whose proposal is quite similar to that of the coach who will take over from the Copa America, Ancelotti.”
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However, the CBF and Ancelotti can only negotiate officially from January 1, once the Italian enters the final six months of his Madrid contract.
Contacted by The Athletic in recent weeks, the CBF said it prefers not to comment further on its intentions to show respect to Madrid, but it did indicate its plans to talk about this topic from January.
Even as far back as February, one media report claimed Ancelotti had already accepted an offer from Brazil and that Madrid’s Brazilian players had been informed of it. This was denied by all parties to The Athletic, which reported that the CBF would issue a statement on the matter, as it did.
A Confederação Brasileira de Futebol (CBF) informa que não procede a notícia divulgada nesta sexta-feira (10/02) de que o técnico do Real Madrid, o italiano Carlo Ancelotti, é o novo treinador da Seleção Brasileira.
— CBF Futebol (@CBF_Futebol) February 10, 2023
At the same time, former Real and Selecao players Ronaldo and Kaka were involved in trying to convince the Italian to join in March, when there were doubts Ancelotti would stay at Madrid beyond the end of 2022-23.
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Brazil have three players at Real Madrid — Eder Militao, Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior, and 17-year-old striker Endrick, who will join the club in the summer, recently made his first international appearances. Rodrygo has said jokey comments on the subject of Ancelotti arriving as coach have been made in the dressing room. “They dream of it happening,” said one source close to those players this year. There has also been at least one personal meeting between CBF president Rodrigues and Ancelotti.
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Should Ancelotti not continue at Real Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso, a former Madrid player, is one of the best-placed potential successors, although some top executives are more convinced about him than Florentino Perez, despite the fact that the president also values his progression.
Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi is also liked, although no moves have been made. And with Zinedine Zidane on the market, a shock third spell in charge can never be ruled out. Ancelotti’s own re-appointment in 2021 was something of a surprise, just like the decision to hire Julen Lopetegui in 2018, or Zidane’s return in 2019.
Watch this space.
‘There’s a risk involved, but it’s fascinating to watch’
The Athletic La Liga correspondent Dermot Corrigan, on The Athletic Football Podcast
It’s always been quite clear that Ancelotti loves Real Madrid and he really enjoys the club, the city, and the lifestyle that he has here. His family are happy here.
But just as Brazil’s interest arrived after the World Cup last year, there was a bit of uncertainty about his future in Spain, because this is Real Madrid. If you lose a game, suddenly, you know your job can be on the line.
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Madrid argue that those demands on the coach, and on the club, are what have pushed them on to win so many Champions League titles over their history. And if you can’t deal with that pressure — as some coaches have not — you don’t last very long. Ancelotti, clearly, can handle that pressure.
And I’m convinced that if the possibility of staying at Madrid was there for Ancelotti, he would stay, but I’m also convinced that Brazil would love to get him.
However, he could also think of what might happen six or 12 months into the future. And coaching Brazil at a World Cup, it’s perhaps the most glamorous job in all of world football, although, as we’ve seen recently, it comes with its own problems.
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One thing that Perez doesn’t like is to be played off by somebody else. There’s a risk involved. Perez has to be the biggest person at Madrid, and so much comes down to his personal decisions. He might think the best thing for Madrid is to get Ancelotti to renew his contract so that the Brazil stuff goes away, so that they decide, ‘OK, look, we can’t keep waiting’. It will remove the problem, and it won’t stop him from firing Ancelotti in April if he decides to.
So it’s a delicate situation. But Ancelotti has played it very well. It’s super interesting to watch.
(Top photo: Oscar J Barroso/AFP7 via Getty Images)
