Carlo Ancelotti was furious with Real Madrid players for thinking about FIFA World Cup long before tournament began - Reports
Manager Carlo Ancelotti was furious with Real Madrid players thinking about the 2022 FIFA World Cup weeks before the competition, as per Relevo.
With the World Cup in Qatar taking place in the middle of the club football season, all the major football leagues paused for the quadrennial tournament to take place in November and December. This led to the belief that many players did not give their all in the weeks leading up to the World Cup in fear of picking up an injury that would rule them out of the prestigious event.
Ancelotti was apparently irked with some of his Real Madrid players shifting their focus to the World Cup while club football was still taking place. He is said to have called out the players in the dressing room at the Vallecano Stadium following the 3-2 defeat to Rayo Vallecano, which elicited a response from veteran Luka Modric.
Los Blancos had 13 players called up to represent their countries in Qatar — Vinicius Jr., Rodrygo and Eder Militao (Brazil), Aurelien Tchouameni, Eduardo Camavinga and Karim Benzema (France), Dani Carvajal and Marco Asensio (Spain), Thibaut Courtois and Eden Hazard (Belgium), Fede Valverde (Uruguay), Antonio Rudiger (Germany) and Modric (Croatia).
🎖️| Ancelotti was disappointed in the last weeks before the World Cup, him & the staff noticed the players focused only on the World Cup. After the game vs. Rayo Vallecano, he raised his voice in the dressing room & received a response from Luka Modrić. @relevo
🚨🎖️| Ancelotti was disappointed in the last weeks before the World Cup, him & the staff noticed the players focused only on the World Cup. After the game vs. Rayo Vallecano, he raised his voice in the dressing room & received a response from Luka Modrić. @relevo https://t.co/7qchiIKDJG
Camavinga and Tchouameni featured in the final but lost to Argentina on penalties, which meant no Real Madrid player won the coveted trophy this year.
Carlo Ancelotti dropped hint of frustration with Real Madrid players earlier this season
Carlo Ancelotti notably called out Real Madrid players who were afraid of being injured ahead of the World Cup and asked them to stay on the sofa.
Speaking ahead of his team's UEFA Champions League clash against RB Leipzig on October 25, he told Marca:
"You can get injured in training and everyone wants to train. If someone tells me they’re afraid to play or train, they can stay at home on the sofa, watching a series or a movie.”
Los Blancos won just two out of their last five games across competitions before the 2022 FIFA World Cup. This included a damaging 3-2 loss against Rayo Vallecano and a 1-1 draw against Girona FC in La Liga. They now trail Barcelona by two points in the league table after 14 game weeks.