Real Madrid are unhappy with the timing and financial arrangements of Carlo Ancelotti’s exit from the club, leaving his reported move to take over as coach of the Brazil national team in jeopardy, sources told ESPN Brasil.
On Monday, ESPN reported that there was optimism from the Brazilian federation (CBF) that a deal to hire Ancelotti as coach was progressing in time for him to oversee a pair of World Cup qualifiers in June.
However, sources said Tuesday that Madrid wanted Ancelotti, whose contract runs until June of 2026, to be able to focus on the remainder of the LaLiga season and to coach the team at this summer’s Club World Cup.
Madrid are also unwilling to pay the remainder of Ancelotti’s contract, leaving a move that seemed to be nearing certainty on Monday at an impasse.
CBF representatives are in Madrid trying to negotiate a resolution to this impasse, while avoiding placing undue pressure on Ancelotti to honour a verbal agreement that was previously made between the two sides, sources added.
While Ancelotti is one of the most successful coaches in Madrid’s history — winning three Champions Leagues and two LaLiga titles during two spells at the Santiago Bernabéu — the current season has been a disappointment. Madrid lost to Arsenal in the Champions League quarterfinals and to Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final on Saturday. They are four points behind the Catalans in LaLiga with five games to play.
Brazil has been without a coach since March, when it fired Dorival Junior after a humiliating loss to CONMEBOL rivals Argentina in a qualifier.
The five-time World Cup champions, who are fourth in the qualifying table, are set to play Ecuador on June 4 and Paraguay on June 9. If Ancelotti moves on from Madrid in time for those Brazil games, they will need to find a new coach or appoint an interim to oversee Real’s participation in this summer’s Club World Cup.
If Brazil are unable to finalize a deal with Ancelotti, sources said the CBF will consider resuming talks with Al Hilal coach Jorge Jesus to have a new coach in place for the next squad announcement on May 26.
