Carlo Ancelotti not guaranteed to finish season as Real Madrid manager

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti is hanging onto his job for the moment, with the La Liga title and the Copa del Rey final against Barcelona his remaining hopes of being given a hand up. Los Blancos now have eight games remaining before the Club World Cup, which are being framed as crucial for his future.

Ancelotti admitted after defeat to Arsenal in the Champions League quarter-final that he was unsure about his future, as Brazil do their best to persuade him to leave his post in the Spanish capital. They have reportedly set Ancelotti a deadline for the end of May to accept their approach, but there is a scenario in which they may not have to negotiate with Real Madrid.

The Italian manager is ‘more out than in’, report Relevo, and they say that he has been increasingly aware that it is the end of his cycle this season. Cadena Cope, as quoted by Sport, go one step further, and say that Ancelotti is not guaranteed to make the end of the season, with just eight games remaining. Their information is that if Los Blancos lose the Copa del Rey final and against Barcelona at Montjuic on the 11th of May, then Ancelotti will be dismissed with just three games to go on the 11th of May.

It leaves them in a curious scenario. They will no doubt want to bring in a new manager, with Xabi Alonso and Jurgen Klopp linked to the position, but would have to appoint someone quickly. Their Club World Cup campaign begins on the 18th of June, just 24 days after the end of the Liga season. Previously, the likes of Sporting Director Santiago Solari has been cited as a potential emergency candidate to take the reins, when Ancelotti’s job was under threat in November.