Carlo Ancelotti said on Friday that his final game of the LaLiga season this weekend will be emotional as Real Madrid finally made his departure official.
Earlier this month, the Brazilian Football Confederation said that Ancelotti would be taking charge of the Brazil national team this summer, but Madrid had not formally announced his departure.
Ancelotti wished former Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso luck as Madrid’s next coach, even as the club have yet to make Alonso’s role official.
“I don’t want to give advice, everyone has their own ideas, but you’re lucky to coach Real Madrid, as it was for those before me, and as it will be for those after me,” Ancelotti said of Alonso. “Xabi is the first and I wish him all the luck in the world, he has the characteristics to coach this club, I hope he enjoys it.”
Ancelotti’s position at Madrid had come under growing pressure, with the club ending the season without a major trophy for the first time since 2021.
“Today we go our separate ways again. Today, once again, I carry in my heart every moment experienced in this wonderful second spell as Real Madrid coach. They’ve been unforgettable years, an incredible journey full of emotions, trophies and, above all, the pride of representing this badge,” Ancelotti wrote in a post on Instagram.
“Thanks to the president Florentino Pérez, to the club, to my players, to my staff and, above all, to this unique fanbase that has always made me feel like one of them.
“What we have achieved together will remain forever in the memory of Madrid fans, not only for the victories, but for the way we achieved them. Those magic nights at the Bernabéu are already football history. Now a new adventure begins, but my bond with Real Madrid is eternal.”
Madrid play Real Sociedad on Saturday at the Bernabéu, after a season which saw them finish second in LaLiga, lose the Copa del Rey final and crash out of the Champions League quarterfinals.
Ancelotti admitted there might be tears.
“It will be a nice farewell. They’re emotional days, talking to the players who’ve been with you all this time, there’s quite a big staff, I’ve had a very good relationship with the players.
“We’ve had a good working atmosphere thanks to everyone’s effort here, the cooks who’ve made me carbonara before games, the cleaners, they’re special days, but there’s nothing new, the season ends, four years here are a lot, and we’ve all had a good time,” he said.
“I get emotional quickly, my grandfather did, my father did, if I cry there’s no problem, I won’t hide that. It will be a nice day, I’ll share it with Luka [Modrić], who has been a fantastic support here at Real Madrid, a fantastic player, a legend, and doing it with him is nice.”
“Real Madrid C.F. and Carlo Ancelotti have reached an agreement to end his time as Real Madrid manager,” the club said in a statement on Friday. “Our club wishes to express its gratitude and affection for one of the greatest legends of Real Madrid and world football.
“Carlo Ancelotti led our team through one of the most successful periods in our 123-year history and has become the coach with the most titles in our history: three European Cups, three Club World Cups, three European Super Cups, two La Liga titles, two Copa del Rey titles, and two Spanish Super Cups. A total of 15 titles during the six seasons he has been with our club.
“Tomorrow, the Santiago Bernabéu will pay tribute to him in what will be Carlo Ancelotti’s final match as Real Madrid manager. Real Madrid wishes him and his entire family the best of luck in this new stage of his life.”
Ancelotti — who returned to Madrid for his second spell in 2021 — had a contract at Madrid until June 2026, but he will now depart, with the club set to appoint former player Alonso as his successor ahead of the Club World Cup.
Madrid have suffered a series of high-profile defeats this season, including four consecutive Clásico losses to Barcelona.
Madrid’s 5-1 aggregate elimination to Arsenal in the Champions League was followed by a 3-2 loss to Barcelona after extra time in the Copa del Rey final in Seville on April 26, before a 4-3 defeat to Barça in the last Clásico of the campaign on May 11 effectively ended the title race.
Ancelotti reflected upon his career.
“Football has changed in the last 10 years, in the last 20. The other day, compared to my first UCL with Milan in 2003, the last was in 2024, 21 years have passed, if I hadn’t been able to change with the times I wouldn’t have been able to, it’s thanks to my staff, who allow me to keep up with the times,” he said.
“Now preparation is much more analytical than before, a lot of aspects of play, set pieces, playing out from the back, the press, a low block. In 2003 it was much easier than in 2024. I have a staff who’ve given me the enthusiasm to change. I’m a different coach now than I was in 2003, and in 1995.
“Real Madrid is a demanding club, but it was to be, it has a history that doesn’t allow it to do things any other way, the demands are fundamental in having success, and they’re an explanation for the success it’s had in the last decades, it’s been the key to success,” he said. “It isn’t difficult to be a coach, managing a dressing room, a club like Real Madrid, it’s easy, because here you have all the tools to be successful, the organisation, the qualities, it’s a football club not a company, I think it’s easier to be here than somewhere else where there’s less quality and less organisation.
“My work can be judged, there’s no problem. I’m not a coach, I’m a person who works as a coach. People can have their opinion positive or negative of my coach, but I’d rather be remembered as a good person.”
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