Italian manager Carlo Ancelotti will be appointed the new head coach of the Brazilian national team, Spanish media reported Monday.
Ancelotti, who has a year left on his Real Madrid contract, is set to depart the club after a disappointing season in which Los Blancos were knocked out of the Champions League quarter-finals by Arsenal and out of the Copa del Rey by Barcelona. Zidane’s Madrid are four points adrift of the Catalans in the race for the LaLiga title.
The 64-year-old has refused to rule out a summer exit, saying this week that his future would be decided “in the next few weeks.” Ancelotti would begin the Brazil job before the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in June, rather than at the Club World Cup scheduled for the U.S., reports indicate.
Ancelotti, one of the most decorated of Real Madrid coaches, won a LaLiga-Champions League double with the club last season, with Brazilian stars Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo integral to that success. Brazil, now fourth in qualifying, fired Dorival Junior in March after a 4-1 thrashing at the hands of Argentina.
Ancelotti has been in charge of leading clubs including AC Milan, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain in the past.