Florentino Perez's number one candidate to replace Carlo Ancelotti rejects Real Madrid: Reports
Zinedine Zidane, who is reportedly Real Madrid president Florentino Perez’s No. 1 candidate to replace Carlo Ancelotti at the helm, has refused to return to Madrid.
According to Catalan outlet El Nacional, Ancelotti’s future with Los Blancos remains in the air. The Italian has insisted time and time again that he would like to see his contract out at Real Madrid (June 2024), but the club's hierarchy is not fully convinced.
The Whites’ struggles in La Liga have not gone unnoticed and it would reportedly take another Champions League triumph for Ancelotti to remain in charge of the club next season. It is believed that President Perez feels that Ancelotti’s chapter in the Spanish capital has come to a close.
The Italian tactician has also been heavily linked with the Brazil job, with many reports backing him to become Selecao’s next permanent manager. Combining all the factors, it is likely that he will not be at the helm in the 2023-24 season.
It has been reported that Perez wants Zidane to return to the Santiago Bernabeu this summer as Ancelotti’s successor. Zidane has already received Madrid's offer but has supposedly turned them down, as he wants his next managerial job to be in France. According to El Nacional, Zidane is unlikely to return to the Spanish capital for a third managerial spell.
The French tactician dreams of managing the French national football team and feels that being in the country would help his case. Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) have long been interested in signing him, and Zidane could reportedly accept their offer this summer.
Zidane, who led Real Madrid to three successive Champions League titles between 2016 and 2018, has managed 284 games in his career, attaining a win percentage of 60.78.
Carlo Ancelotti laments Real Madrid’s second-half display in defeat to Real Sociedad
Real Madrid fell to a disappointing 2-0 defeat to Real Sociedad in their La Liga matchday 33 clash at the Reale Arena on Tuesday night (May 2). Goals from former Real Madrid man Takefusa Kubo (47 minutes) and Sociedad substitute Ander Barrenetxea (85 minutes) propelled the hosts to an impressive win over the Whites.
At a post-match press conference, Carlo Ancelotti criticized his team’s second-half display, saying (via MARCA):
“The first half was good, then we gave away the 1-0 and everything went wrong, everything got complicated. The second half was not good. We made another gift, I hope it will be the last.”
The gift here refers to Eder Militao’s costly mistake in the 47th minute. Under pressure from Alexander Sorloth, the Brazilian slipped and overhit a back pass to Thibaut Courtois. The keeper was caught out of position with the pass, leading to an easy tap-in for Kubo at the far post.
With the defeat, second-placed Los Blancos have fallen 14 points behind leaders Barcelona in the La Liga race. Atletico Madrid have a chance to leapfrog them into second place with a victory over Cadiz on May 3.