Carlo Ancelotti has responded to speculation about leaving in the summer. The Real Madrid coach expressed a desire to stay until 2029 and to leave together with president Florentino Perez.
On Sunday, Real Madrid took advantage of the mistake of city rivals Atletico and took the lead in the La Liga table with a 4-1 win over Las Palmas. A day later, the Spanish radio station Onda Cero reported that coach Carlo Ancelotti does not intend to fulfill his contract until 2026 and instead wants to take on a new challenge in the summer, possibly as a national coach.
At the press conference before the Champions League game against Red Bull Salzburg on Wednesday, the 65-year-old commented on the rumors and made it clear: “I will never decide in my life when the day of my farewell will be.” This moment could come after the game, after the next one, in a year or five. However, he will not leave the club on his own initiative; that decision must be made by the club.
Hope to say goodbye with Perez
The Italian has a good relationship with president Florentino Perez, who is in charge until 2029. “He knows me very well,” explained Ancelotti. “I hope to stay here for the next four years too and we can say goodbye together.” After all, he feels “very much appreciated by the fans, the club and also the media”.
Ancelotti has been in his second spell at the Whites since the summer of 2021, having previously worked for them between 2013 and 2015. In total, the coach has won 15 titles with the Whites – more than any other coach in the club’s history. With the Spaniards, he won the Champions League three times, the Club World Cup three times, the UEFA Super Cup three times, and the league title, the cup and the national super cup twice each.
No place for Xabi Alonso?
Should Ancelotti be allowed to fulfill his wish to stay in Madrid until 2029, it would also mean that the door for Xabi Alonso’s return to Real would remain closed for several more years. The Leverkusen coach has been repeatedly linked in the past with a move to the club for which he played 205 games as an active player.
