MADRID: Manager Carlo Ancelotti has extended his contract with Real Madrid until 2026, turning his back on the opportunity to become the first foreign national team manager of Brazil.
Ancelotti, 64, has been at Real since 2021, having previously managed the club from 2013 to 2015. The Italian has won 10 titles as Real boss, including two Champions Leagues, most recently in his first season back at the club in 2021-22.
He has also lifted one La Liga title, two Copas del Rey, two Club World Cups, two European Super Cups and the Spanish Super Cup once.
Ancelotti is the only coach to have won four European Cups while he was also the first to win all five major European leagues in Italy, England, France, Germany and Spain.
A club statement said: “Real Madrid CF and Carlo Ancelotti have agreed to extend our coach’s contract until June 30, 2026.”
His contract was due to expire in 2024, and this extension ends speculation that Ancelotti would take over as manager of Brazil.
In March of this year, the then Brazilian CBF president Ednaldo Rodrigues told Reuters that Ancelotti was his main target for the position of national team coach.
In July, when introducing caretaker manager Fernando Diniz, he remained confident, saying: “He (Ancelotti) will be here, you can be sure of that.”
Ancelotti, the only manager to have won a title in all of Europe’s big five leagues, had previously refused to speak about his plans.
“I’ll give you the chance to ask another question,” Ancelotti told a reporter at a press conference before Real’s Champions League match against Napoli last month, when asked if he would be at the club for another season.
Earlier this month, Rodrigues was removed from his post by a Rio de Janeiro court which annulled an assembly of the organisation held in 2022 in which Rodrigues was elected to lead the CBF until 2026.
The president of the Superior Court of Sports Justice Jose Perdiz was named interim head and this uncertainty is believed to have been the final deciding factor for Ancelotti.
Real lead LaLiga standings on goal difference ahead of Girona after 18 games, and their next game sees them host Mallorca on Wednesday.
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