Ancelotti agrees to leave Real Madrid for big new job

Imre Himmelbauer

10 Feb 2023 14:07 GMT
2 min read

Carlo Ancelotti has agreed to leave Real Madrid to become Brazil's new national coach, ESPN Brasil reports.

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The Italian still has a contract with Real Madrid until mid-2024, but according to the report, the coach will leave Los Blancos behind to start working as head coach with the South Americans from the summer.

Brazil had been looking for a new national coach since the sacking of Tite, who was released after his team was eliminated by Croatia in the quarter-finals at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar on penalties.

The parties will not announce the agreement yet, as the coach is still stuck in the Spanish capital for about a year and a half. Moreover, no official commitments have yet been made to the Brazilian Football Federation. Ancelotti has only verbally promised that he will take the job.

The contract is reportedly for three years from July 2023 to August 2026, after the World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada. Only after that competition will the parties meet to decide whether there will be an extension to Ancelotti’s commitment with the team.

The Brazilian players of Real Madrid are already aware of the news, according to ESPN. Eder Militao, Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior are all in the Primera Division champions’ roster as well as being regulars at international level. They reportedly regret that Ancelotti is leaving the club, but see him as a suitable coach for the five-time world champion.

Meanwhile, there is a sense that Ancelotti is coming to the end of his latest spell at Real Madrid, despite Los Blancos storming into the Club World Cup final, in which they will face Al-Hilal.

Domestically, they are lagging Barcelona in Real Madrid at the summit of the standings by eight points and face a major challenge to regain their crown after winning only two of their last five fixtures.

Meanwhile, they will tackle Liverpool in the Champions League last 16, with the first leg at Anfield on 21 February.