Carlo Ancelotti’s second spell in charge of Real Madrid will reportedly come to an end at the end of the season with the Italian set to take a huge international role.
Ancelotti’s contract at the Bernabeu expires in 2026 but The Athletic report that a decision has been made on his future.
Madrid were beaten 3-2 in Saturday’s Copa del Rey final by arch-rivals Barcelona and were knocked out of the Champions League by Arsenal earlier this month.
They sit four points adrift of Barca in the LaLiga standings with five games remaining and those are set to be the final matches of his tenure.
Brazil have been working hard to appoint him as soon as possible and the Athletic report states that they will do so once the league campaign finishes, meaning he will not be in charge during this summer’s Club World Cup.
Diego Fernandes, an intermediary for the Brazilian FA, was once again spotted in attendance at Saturday’s final in Sevilla and is understood to have held talks with Ancelotti over succeeding Dorival Junior who was sacked in the wake of his country’s 4-1 humiliation at the hands of rivals Argentina in World Cup qualifying last month.
Fernandes has been spending an increasing amount of time in Spain over the last few months in an attempt to persuade Ancelotti to become Brazil boss before the World Cup qualifiers against Ecuador and Paraguay in June, and miss Madrid’s appearance in the Club World Cup.
Former Real star and current Bayer Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso is being tipped to succeed the 65-year-old.
Sources close to the deal say that Fernandes’ role has been ‘tactful and diplomatic’ as he attempts to secure an early release for Ancelotti that would be seen as a mark of respect between the coach and Real president Florentino Perez as opposed to any breakdown in the working relationship between the two men.
Ancelotti is under contract until 2026, but asked about his future after Saturday’s final, he said: ‘I could stay at Real Madrid or maybe leave, we will see. It will be a topic for the next weeks not for today.’
