Real Madrid’s leaders, led by Florentino Perez, are calm about Carlo Ancelotti. The concern exists about what the team is offering in the last few games. At the same time, there is also confidence that if there is anyone capable of turning the situation around it is the Italian coach, who is under contract with the Madrid team until June 30, 2026. That link was renewed last December and after the signing came Champions League and LaLiga to Real Madrid’s record. It is true that the lack of reaction that the team is showing in extreme situations such as those experienced against Barcelona and AC Milan, are worrying.
Within the confidence that is transmitted, it seems illogical to talk about extreme situations that could lead to drastic decisions, something that has not crossed the minds of the leaders. In Real Madrid’s current sporting structure, Raul Gonzalez and Santiago Solari are the alternatives that could exist in such an eventual, albeit distant solution.
The conversations held began with a lunch at Valdebebas with Florentino Perez and Carlo Ancelotti as diners after Barcelona’s 4-0 win, in which the club conveyed calm. It is usual for the president to visit Valdebebas, but less so for coffee to turn into lunch. As is customary, after the match against Milan, there was a new meeting and greater displeasure. Logical. A reaction was requested, but it did not come and that is what is leading the current Real Madrid to live an unthinkable situation for everyone when Mbappe presented himself at the Santiago Bernabeu last July. At any moment, the tense calm could turn into something more, although the climate of trust and respect is nothing like the last dismissals of coaches in the middle of the season such as Benitez, Lopetegui and Solari himself.
A tense calm
In recent weeks, the club had already hinted that perhaps the work done in the summer in terms of squad planning or the necessary balance had not been the most successful. There is time to rectify this and that is why Real Madrid began to look to the winter transfer window, accentuated by Dani Carvajal’s injury and subsequent results. There is no belief, but there is a need to go to a market that has not been used for five years, just when Reinier arrived.
The reality is that Kroos, Nacho and Joselu left, the first two legends with weight within the team and the third with a Madridista sentiment and a contribution beyond doubt. In their place came Kylian Mbappe and Endrick, with unequal contributions, one with little success and the other with little presence.
Ancelotti understands perfectly what football is all about and the demands of Real Madrid. He understands the criticism, as well as the fact that certain aspects of the team are failing, starting with the attitude and ending with the physical aspect, as the data show. The strange thing is that everything was working until last June and suddenly it is as if the curtain has fallen. The performance is not over yet, but it will be the results that will put everyone in their place. The reaction has to come now or decisions could be rushed, but support still exists within the club for the coach.
During last autumn the situation was never as tense as it is now, but that did not mean that there was no talk of replacements and the end of Carlo Ancelotti’s time as head coach of the club. Names and alternatives were discussed, but he ended up renewing his contract. Now, Real Madrid deny any approach towards any coach for next season, for which Ancelotti is under contract. If there is one thing that has been demonstrated by Real Madrid’s recent coaching changes, it is that they approached the end of the season without a decision on the future being made, and now is no exception. Just look at how the Italian’s return was forged.
