“He is one of the few that I missed out on” - Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti names Barcelona icon as player he wished he could’ve worked with
Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has named Barcelona legend Lionel Messi as the one player he wished to have managed during his illustrious career. The Italian is one of the top managers in the game and has an enviable resume.
The 1990 FIFA World Cup semi-finalist is the only manager to win the league title at all five of Europe's top five leagues. Last season, he became the first coach to win the UEFA Champions League multiple times with multiple clubs, having won it twice with AC Milan in the 2000s (2003 and 2007).
Ancelotti is coming off his second La Liga-UEFA Champions League double in three years during his second stint with Los Blancos. Having managed a plethora of top players over the years, like Kaka, Paolo Maldini and Cristiano Ronaldo, to name a few, the Italian said that he would have wanted to add Messi to that list:
“He (Messi) is one of the few (that I missed out on working with). I have an unbelievable list (of players I coached in my career), and I remember all of them. The teams, the squads, the times we spent together, good times,” said Ancelotti on The Obi One Podcast.
Messi is one of the game's best ever players, scoring over 800 times for club and country and winning a record 45 titles. That includes a record 672 strikes in 17 seasons with the Blaugrana.
Carlo Ancelotti's Real Madrid to take on Barcelona in pre-season
Real Madrid continue their pre-season tour of the US when they lock horns with their arch-rivals Barcelona at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Saturday (August 3).
Los Blancos opened their pre-season with a narrow 1-0 defeat to AC Milan at Soldier Field in Chicago on Wednesday (July 31), with Samuel Chukwueze netting the game's only goal 10 minutes into the second period.
Meanwhile, Barcelona kicked off their pre-season with a win at the Camping World Stadium in Orlando, beating reigning four-time English champions Manchester City on penalties (4-1) after a 2-2 draw in regulation time. Pau Victor and Pablo Torre scored for Hansi Flick's side in the first half, with Nico O'Reilly and Jack Grealish scoring either side of the break for City.
Los Blancos open the new season with a UEFA Super Cup clash with UEFA Europa League winners Atalanta in Warsaw on August 14, while Barca commence their campaign in LaLiga at Valencia three days later.