Carlo Ancelotti woke up this morning to the realisation that his Real Madrid tenure is coming to an end.
Last night’s 2-1 defeat at home to Arsenal in the Champions League quarter-finals – the Gunners completing a comprehensive 5-1 aggregate win – pushed him closer to an exit door that was already ajar following an underwhelming season.
Ancelotti has enjoyed huge success at the Santiago Bernabeu, winning La Liga twice and the Champions League three times, but there will be no sentimentality when it comes to deciding his future.
👔 @MrAncelotti: “We have to hold our heads high, we must learn from it and fight in the next game.”
📺 Press conference ➡️ RM Play— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) April 16, 2025
Ancelotti knows time is up
The Italian, whose contract expires in 2026, acknowledged as much after the game last night. Asked if he would be in charge when the Club World Cup comes around in June, he said: “I can’t speak about this right now.
“It could be that the club decide to change [coach]. It could be this year – or the next when my contract expires, there’s no problem.
“It could be tomorrow, in 10 days, in a month or a year, but all I can do will be to thank the club – if my contract’s up or not, I don’t care.”
Madrid still have plenty to play for this season. They are in the final of the Copa del Rey where they will face Barcelona in Seville, the Club World Cup and La Liga, in which they are four points behind Barca.
Ancelotti added: “We have the dark side and we have the bright side.
“We have managed the bright side many times, we have won titles, we have won games. We have been eliminated [from the Champions League but] we have three more competitions we need to stay focused for.”
Yet, you wouldn’t back Madrid to win any of them.
Not at Barcelona’s level
They have played Barcelona twice this season and been outclassed on both occasions, a 4-0 league defeat at the Bernabeu and a 5-2 hammering in the Spanish Super Cup.
They may stand a better chance in the Club World Cup, especially as England’s participants – Chelsea and Manchester City – are not at the level of Arsenal, or Liverpool. But, even then, could this Madrid side see off the challenges of Bayern Munich, Inter Milan or Copa Libertadores winners Botafogo?
The inquest has already started in Madrid and it is likely to end with Ancelotti’s departure.
