Reports: Carlo Ancelotti rejects move to former club
What's the rumour?
According to the reports on the Mirror UK, Carlo Ancelotti has declined the offer from his former club, Paris Saint Germain to take over as their new manager in the summer.
The Italian has his sight set on making a return to management with an English club instead of returning to France. Elimination from the Champions League could lead to Unai Emery losing his job and PSG have begun lining up replacements.
In case you didn't know...
Ancelotti has been out of a job after being sacked by Bayern Munich in September 2017. A 3-0 away loss to PSG in the Champions League group stage ended his short tenure of just 14 months in Bavaria. One of the primary reasons for his sacking by Bayern was claimed to be that he had lost the dressing room.
The ex-Bayern boss had a fallout with star players Robert Lewandowski, Thomas Muller and Arjen Robben. The game against PSG was one of Bayern's worst performances and Ancelotti's tactical plans were called into question. His game plan backfired straight after kickoff. He was also criticised for starting Robben, Mats Hummels and Franck Ribery on the bench.
The heart of the matter
The 58-year-old has vast experience and has managed elite European clubs in his career. He has been in charge of Juventus, AC Milan, Chelsea and Real Madrid. His was at PSG was from 2011 to 2013.
During his time in Paris, he brought in stars like Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Thiago Silva, Ezequiel Lavezzi, Marco Verratti and David Beckham. He delivered the French Ligue 1 trophy in 2013, ending the Parisiens 19 year drought for the league title. The Italian was one of the prominent personalities in PSG's dominance in France and its rise as a European force.
Rumour probability/rating: 8/10
Ancelotti has a clear state of mind. He is only interested in returning to the Premier League. PSG can consider themselves out of the running to re-hire their former coach. Chelsea could also consider hiring their former manager, however, Luis Enrique has been viewed as the favourite.
Another possible destination could be Arsenal even though the Gunners board could favour someone young after the departure of Arsene Wenger. But the three-time Champions League winning manager is prepared to wait and is keen on taking a job in England rather than going back to Paris.
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Author's take
Since Carlo Ancelotti has ruled himself out of the running for the PSG job, the Qatari owned club will have to look elsewhere. Unai Emery looks to be on borrowed time and the chances of him losing his job are highly likely if the club is knocked out in the second leg of their Round of 16 clash.
President Nasser Al Khelaifi can consider someone like Zinedine Zidane, as his job is also on the line if he fails to deliver the Champions League at Real Madrid.