Real Madrid Hires Everton Manager Carlo Ancelotti as Zidane Replacement

Carlo Ancelotti will make his return to Real Madrid with the three-time Champions League–winning manager signing a three-year contract, the club announced. 

Ancelotti coached Real from 2013 to 2015, leading the club to its 10th European title in 2014 with a Champions League trophy in his first season. But in his two years at the Santiago Bernabéu, he failed to lead Los Blancos to a La Liga title, leading to his dismissal in 2015. 

The 61-year-old replaces club legend Zinedine Zidane after the Frenchman resigned last week, citing a lack of support from the club. After stints with AC Milan, Chelsea, PSG and Bayern Munich, Ancelotti is the only coach to win league titles in four of Europe’s top five leagues. Now, the Italian manager has a chance to complete the feat with his expected return to La Liga. 

Real Madrid reached the Champions League semifinals and finished second in La Liga last season, two points behind crosstown rival Atlético Madrid. Ancelotti will arrive in the Spanish capital after one and a half years at Everton, where he had three years remaining on an £11 million a year ($15.6 million) contract before his departure.

“I would like to thank the Board of Directors, the players, and the Evertonians for the tremendous support they have all given me during my time at the Club,” Ancelotti said in a statement. I have complete respect for everyone associated with Everton and hope they can achieve the exciting opportunities they have in front of them.

“While I have enjoyed being at Everton I have been presented with an unexpected opportunity which I believe is the right move for me and my family at this time.”

Despite a strong start that moved Everton atop the Premier League table at the end of October, the Toffees limped to a 10th-place finish that saw them miss out on a spot in Europe next season. 

Everton’s next hire will be the club’s sixth permanent manager in the last five years under owner Farhad Moshiri. Moshiri has spent hundreds of millions in transfer fees since his arrival in 2016 in the hopes of turning the club into a Champions League contender, but the club’s best result throughout the course of his ownership was a seventh-place finish in ’16–17. 

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