Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti, 65, emphasized in his first press conference after extending his contract that he prioritized his contract over the Brazilian national team.
Ancelotti has been in charge of Real Madrid since the summer of 2021. It is his second spell at the helm of the club, having been in charge from the summer of 2013 until his dismissal in May 2015.
Ancelotti was also a candidate to take charge of the Brazil national soccer team, which remains on an acting basis. He was tipped to succeed Tite after Brazil’s quarterfinal exit at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Earlier this year, Brazilian Football Confederation president Ednaldo Rodriguez himself mentioned Ancelotti. Real’s Vinicius Junior and Rodriguez have also thrown their support behind Ancelotti.
In fact, European transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano and Spain’s As reported that “Ancelotti will take the helm of the Brazilian national team from June 2024″.
But Ancelotti chose Real. “Coach Ancelotti has signed a new contract with the club,” the club announced on its official website on Monday (June 29), “extending his contract until June 30, 2026.”
Ancelotti led Real to the title in the 2021-2022 season. In addition to winning the La Liga (Spain) title, Ancelotti became the first coach to win the Premier League (England), Bundesliga (Germany), Serie A (Italy), and Ligue 1 (France) in all five major European leagues.
In his first press conference of 2024, Ancelotti said he was “very happy” to extend his contract with Real, adding, “It was simple and fast. There was no disagreement,” emphasizing that the deal was done in unison.
“It’s worthwhile that the club wants to continue working with me. I wasn’t in a hurry,” he said, adding, “It’s probably because they wanted it now and they thought what we’re doing here together is good.”
“As I said, I’m very happy,” he added, “but success here is not about that, it’s about winning games and we will try to do that.”
He also spoke about the Brazilian national team. “Everyone knows about it. I met with the former president of the Brazilian association, Rodrigues, and I want to thank him for his interest. It was an honor and it made me very proud,” he explained.
“It obviously depended on my situation at Real. I wanted to make it clear, this was my first option,” he continued, “Rodriguez showed me a lot of affection, even though he is no longer president. I should be grateful for that, but I wanted to end the way I wanted to end it, I wanted to stay here,” he confessed.
It was only after Rodriguez stepped down that Ancelotti signed the contract offered by Real, and when asked what he would do if he was approached for the national team job, he laughed: “I’m very excited to think about taking charge of the Brazilian national team, but I don’t know if Brazil will still want me in 2026. I don’t know if they will be happy with my decision.”
He also emphasized that Real will be his last club. He said: “That’s right. It’s my last bench. But I don’t want to say until 2026. I enjoy coaching. I hope to be here until 2027 or 2028. I want to be a coach. I like Madrid,” he said.