Carlo Ancelotti will leave Real Madrid for a second time as the most decorated head coach in UEFA Champions League history after a hugely successful second spell, primed to take his talents to the international game with Brazil.
The Italian’s time at the very top of club soccer appeared to be over before he left Everton to return to the Santiago Bernabeu in 2021.
But Ancelotti proved he had lost none of his old magic, lifting the European Cup for the fourth and fifth times as a coach in 2022 and 2024.
The 65-year-old also won his first La Liga title in 2022, completing the set of Europe’s top five leagues.
When Zinedine Zidane, who led Madrid to three Champions League titles himself, ended his second spell in charge, Ancelotti was considered a safe pair of hands, having previously overseen the ‘decima’ triumph in 2014.
He surpassed expectations, infamously high among Real fans, by maintaining the club’s status as the strongest in Europe.
Los Blancos secured a La Liga title in his first season back, giving Ancelotti the clean sweep, before defeating Liverpool in Paris to push the Italian clear of Zidane and Bob Paisley with a record fourth Champions League as a manager.
Real had to settle for Copa del Rey and Club World Cup trophies the following year, but they roared back after the signing of Jude Bellingham with another La Liga-Champions League double last season.
Real Madrid slipped well behind Barcelona in its league title defense and lost the Copa del Rey final to its archrivals, while a quarterfinal humbling in Europe by Arsenal seemingly secured Ancelotti’s fate.
He all but admitted as much after the Copa del Rey loss, saying his future was “a topic for the next weeks”.
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