Ancelotti drops future hint amid Brazil talk
Carlo Ancelotti will reportedly link up with the Brazil national team in a sensational move that will see him finish up as Real Madrid manager at the end of the 24/25 LaLiga season.
According to football journalist Fabrizio Romano, Ancelotti will replace the sacked Dorival junior at the helm of the Selecao in time for their next two 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers against Ecuador and Paraguay in early June.
It is understood the struggling South American giant, languishing in fourth on the CONMEBOL qualifying table and reeling from a 4-0 hammering by Argentina last month, is not willing to wait until after the FIFA Club World Cup in the same month to get its man.
That means Ancelotti and Los Blancos will part ways at the conclusion of the LaLiga season, the winner of which could be decided when Los Blancos take on Barcelona in next month's keenly-anticipated El Clasico.
Asked about his future after Real Madrid's 3-2 Copa del Rey final loss to the Blaugrana, the Italian said: "I can go on, I can stop, but it will be an issue for the next few weeks, not for today."
"We have competed and we will also compete at Barcelona in the upcoming league game [on May 11]. We will compete like we did tonight.
"We have to keep competing for the league title. We played a level game and were very close to lifting the cup.
"I'm hurt for not being able to lift the cup, but I have nothing to reproach my players for, because we played the game we had to play."
Madrid has lost three straight games against Barcelona this season, also going down 4-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu in LaLiga and 5-2 in the Supercopa de Espana.
That means Hansi Flick is the first Blaugrana coach to win his first three Clasicos since Pep Guardiola (first five).
"We were close to winning and we conceded a strange goal from a ball over the back of the defence, but against Barca it can happen," Ancelotti said.
"We tried until the end, we came close. The second half was very good, but that's football. The match was evenly balanced. Barca were better in the first half, we were better in the second.
"There is nothing bad to say about the team, who fought really hard. We competed very well. If we had won, it wouldn't have been a scandal. We did great until we were shocked late on."
